


Burning Bright

by Nan_ette



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is a space nerd, Alternate Universe - Space, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Panic Attacks, What else is new?, alec has a therapy dog, alec is the best uncle, alec worked for nasa, both space nerds wow, flashbacks of an accident, hayden planetarium, magnus loves teaching kids, oh hell yeah fluff, simon and alec work together, sizzy's kid is the cutest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-10-29 15:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10857201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nan_ette/pseuds/Nan_ette
Summary: “I’m worried about him,” Izzy confesses as she opens the door to her daughter’s school.“I know you are, we all are.  But we can only do so much for him.  Alec has to accept the help we give, we can’t force him.  Plus, walking is healthy,” Simon tries to end on a happy note, giving his wife a big grin.





	1. The Darkest Nights Produce The Brightest Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovely readers! So, this was inspired by Matt's latest live chat where he mentioned he worked at the Natural History Museum, but he loves space as well and so do I, so I wrote him working at the Hayden Planetarium! 
> 
> This story has taken a lot out of me, it's my longest yet that i have worked on over the course of five weeks and it would not have been made possible without the greatest betas @damnyoudaddario and @blj2007, you ladies kept me sane and I can't thank you enough! I love and treasure you both more than Matt loves cows <3
> 
> This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, just not sure how many chapters exactly! I hope you enjoy the aesthetics, i plan to add in a drawing soon ;)
> 
> Trigger warnings: panic attack, mentions of scars and a flashback to a car crash. Those were hard for me to write but they are important to the story line.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy the first chapter!

 

 

**_“Wake up to the sound of your fleeting heart.  When you go what you leave is a work of art, on my chest, on my heart.”_ **

 

* * *

 

“And that, kids, is how stars are formed.”

 

The class of second graders stood around gawking at Alec, all releasing breathless wows in complete awe at what he had explained to them.

 

Alec smirks down at the class of elementary students as he holds his hands behind his back and stands a little taller, proud to teach these kids something new about the universe.

 

“Alright,” he claps his hands in front of him, “sadly that was the end of our tour-”

 

He’s cut off with a resounding whine from the class.  He laughs fondly at the kids.

 

“But, my colleagues and I will be here if you have _any_ questions.”  He turns to face their teacher.  “I do believe it is time for a snack before heading back to school, Miss Connerton?” he asks, squinting one eye dubiously.

 

She feigns a shocked face and looks at the now even more excited children beaming up at her.  “That’s right!  I almost forgot you guys have to eat!  Find your food buddy!” she exclaims with her hands.  

 

The class giggles at her and move to grab onto their partners hands before forming a line and following the assistant teacher toward the lunch area.  Some of the kids wave goodbye to Alec as they walk away.  He releases one of his hands held behind his back to wave softly in return, his lips can’t help but pull up to one side, his heart fluttering at the thought of entertaining them for an afternoon as he remembers his first trip here.

 

He feels a light hand on his shoulder and turns to face their teacher.

 

“Hey Alec, thanks again.  All I’m gonna be hearing the next week is questions about space,” she laughs softly.  “Thanks for getting them excited and thank you again for the deal you got us to come here,” she says as she walks backwards to join her kids.

 

He gives her a soft smile and nods his head in response.  “Anytime.  Thanks for bringing well behaved kids.”

 

She sends him one last smile before turning around and jogging to catch up with her class.

 

Alec greatly appreciated teachers and the hard work they put in for their students, so he’s always willing to cut them a deal to bring their classes on a field trip.  If Alec loved anything more than working at the Hayden Planetarium, it was giving kids the opportunity to learn something new about their universe.   He’s loved space since he was a little boy.  He remembers reading his first book about space and being completely mesmerized by not only the endless possibilities, but what humans have already discovered.  Sure, he loved studying humans as well, hell, he was a biological anthropology major before switching to become an astrophysicist.  He learned something new every day with the research going into space stations and new pictures of the universe provided from the Hubble Space Telescope.  Space would always have his heart.

 

“Hello?” a familiar voice sang.  “Earth to Alec?”

 

Alec shook his head and looked down to see his sister sporting a Star Wars themed shirt and two lazy braids falling down her shoulders, her hands set firmly on her hips.

 

Alec smirked and gave her a knowing look, he quirked his brow at her shirt in question.

 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.  “Shut up, Simon loves it when I wear this for him and he’s been a little upset with the lack of results of a new planet he thought he discovered.  So I’m going to make him dinner and put on some Star Wars,” she shrugs a shoulder.

 

Alec’s lips teasingly flex down in disgust at the memory of Izzy’s cooking.

 

“Hey!” she swats at his chest before he can block her, she begrudgingly allows herself to be pulled against his chest in a tight squeeze as he laughs.

 

“I’m sorry Iz,” he finishes laughing, “you’re a great wife for doing that.”  He releases her as they begin heading towards his and Simon’s joint office.  “But he’s an even better husband for eating whatever you manage to manifest in the kitchen.”  He’s quick enough to jump out of her reach and out of the way of a tour group as she leans in to swat at him again.

 

She shakes her head at him, a smile tugging on her lips as he walks a few paces ahead of her for his own safety.  “Whatever Alec, Simon loves me _and_ my cooking.”

 

“What about Simon?” Simon asks as he runs into them outside of their office.

 

“Izzy, cooking, you love it.”  Alec raises his brow and send him a warning look as he passes by.

 

“R-right, yes, of course,” Simon stutters as he adjusts his glasses.  “Izzy is the best cook of all time, I would eat _anything_ she puts in front of me,” he wraps her in his arms as she glares at him, “because I just love her so darn much and she wears nerdy outfits for me.”

 

“Shut up, Simon,” she sighs before shutting him up with a kiss.

 

He pulls back surprised.  “Shutting up now,” he murmurs before going back in to kiss a giggling Isabelle.

 

Alec rolls his eyes and mutters, “Straight people,” before entering their office, their only source of light emanated off of their multiple computer screens displaying data upon data for their latest project.

 

He sits in his spinning chair and taps his screen to open up his schedule for tours within the next week on his computer.  “So Aurora’s class will be coming in tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah,” Simon answers as he pulls Izzy along to sit in his lap at his desk.  “I’m going to be held up with some research until about noon tomorrow for the exoplanet so you think you can handle the tour until around then?”

 

Alec nods.  “No problem, I haven’t seen my goddaughter in a few days,” he says before lightly whining, “and it’s killing me.”

 

He bites his lips to hold back the grin, she’s been here a lot to visit her dad and favorite uncle Alec, but it’ll be his first time leading her around with her class and he’s excited because he knows how passionate she gets when it comes to space.  She was his little space nerd protégé.  He clears his throat and focuses his attention on his computer again, finding the latest news on the Cassini Mission currently orbiting Saturn.

 

“Ready to go?” Izzy’s voice breaks the silence.

 

Simons nods and begins to pack up his laptop as Izzy turns to her brother, who’s suddenly very interested in reading the articles rather than make eye contact, knowing what was coming next.

 

“You want a ride home?” she asks timidly, knowing the response she was going to get, but always letting her brother know she would be here for him.

 

His eyes quickly leave the screen to give her a knowing look before going back to his reading.

 

“I’m good, Iz,” he declares, ending the conversation.  He leans his chin on his hand while the other touches the screen to scroll down the page.

 

Izzy sighs and tries again.  “Alec…” her voice laced with concern and love.

 

“Izzy,” his tone indicating a warning not to take it any further.

 

Simon quietly moves around the room collecting his papers.  The zip of his backpack rang through the tension in the room.

 

She tries to make her brother come to his senses.  “Copernicus isn’t even here to-”

 

“I’m not going to leave him in my office for hours while I do tours, he can only come on research days, you know that.”

 

She opens her mouth to respond, brows set heavily, hands placed on her hips defiantly.

 

“I’m fine,” Alec cuts her off, finally looking at her to help get his point across.

 

Izzy sighs in defeat, shoulders slumping, she gives a slight nod of her head.  Simon pats him once on the shoulder as he passes by to grab his wife’s hand.

 

“Alec’s good, Iz.  Come on, our little princess awaits,” he checks his watch knowing their daughter will be out of school soon.

 

Izzy allows herself to be dragged to the door, but stops and turns to her big brother.  Alec looks up as they leave, the couple turn and give him a comforting smile.  He returns it but it doesn’t fully reach his eyes.

 

“Love you, big bro.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Love you too, sis.  Tell the little princess I can’t wait to see her tomorrow.”

 

Izzy’s smile holds promise before she tugs on her husband, exiting the quiet room into a sea of people walking in the halls.

 

Alec sighs and looks at the time.  The subway right now would be packed with people getting off of work and heading home.

 

He leaned back in his chair to stretch out his arms and legs.  He takes a deep breath and scratches lightly over the scars on his chest over his work t-shirt.  He moves his hand up to scratch the back of his neck before leaning his elbows back on his desk to finish reading the article, hoping time will pass by quickly if he is distracted.

 

\---

 

“I’m worried about him,” Izzy confesses as she opens the door to her daughter’s school.

 

“I know you are, we all are.  But we can only do so much for him.  Alec has to accept the help we give, we can’t force him.  Plus, walking is healthy,” Simon tries to end on a happy note, giving his wife a big grin.

 

She glares at him for a second before opening the door to Magnus’ classroom where her daughter was sitting on the floor practicing her writing.

 

“Isabelle, my dear!” her friend exclaims as he walks over to envelop her in his arms.  She smacks a kiss on his cheek.

 

“Momma, daddy!” Izzy hears before her legs are slammed into by her excited six year old.  Simon laughs when she attacks him next.  He picks her up and swings her around as she squeals in delight, her black ebony hair swirling around freely.

 

“How was class princess?” he readjusts his hold on her.  She wraps her arms around his neck and leans back to grab at his glasses.  He laughs and tries to maneuver his face but gives in to her smile.  She places his glasses on her face and laughs.

 

“Great!  We learned how to write cursive today a-and wrote down questions to ask on the field trip tomorrow!” she exclaimed excitedly, kicking her feet to be let down.  Simon crouches to release her.  She stumbles and laughs over to her desk, her dad’s glasses distorting her vision and grabs a piece of paper and runs back to shove it in his face.  He laughs and takes the paper before plucking his glasses off her face so he can observe her handwriting.

 

“Oh my goodness this looks almost as beautiful as you!” Izzy exclaimed as she crouched next to her husband and pulls Aurora in for a hug.  She giggles and kisses her mom on the cheek.

 

“So you have the tickets?” Magnus longingly looks down at the family before he asks as he walks around the room collecting shredded up pieces of paper from his students earlier.

 

“Oh yeah!” Simon shrugs off his backpack and pulls out thirty tickets for the Hayden Planetarium.  He walks over and hands them to Magnus.

 

He smiles gently as he counts all of the tickets, his rings catching the last glimpses of orange sun rays through the classroom windows.

 

“Perfect!  Thanks Simon,” he smiles and walks over to his bag on his desk.  “How is the search for the exoplanet?” he asks as he opens his folder to place all of the tickets for his students.

 

Simon huffs an exhausted breath.  “Slow, data for this takes time since we have to wait for a wobble and we don’t know how long that time interval is since it only happened once so far.”

 

In order to detect the existence of a distant planet, astronomers like Simon study stars that hold the potential to gravitationally pull in and keep planets at the perfect position to hold life, otherwise known as the goldilocks zone.  Since stars are so big and carry much of the mass around them, Simon studies the luminosity of the distant star.  If the spectrum scale wobbles even a little, proving that the light has dimmed due to an object orbiting it, it will prove the existence of a distant and small planet.  The only problem is, it could take years to see results again depending on how fast the orbit of the planet is.

 

Magnus nods in sympathy for his friend and begins to pack his bag.

 

“Momma, can Mr. Bane come over for dinner again?” Aurora asks sweetly, tugging at her mom’s shirt.

 

Izzy opens her mouth to answer, but Magnus notices her hesitation and cuts in.

 

“Sorry sweet pea, not tonight.  I have to grade all of your guy's’ tests!” he exaggeratedly huffs as if he didn’t love doing it.  Her bottom lip begins to quiver in disappointment, but Magnus sends her a soft smile and a wink that turns her lips up at the corner slightly.

 

Izzy sends him a grateful look, he smiles and nods his head in understanding that Simon was feeling down and Izzy and Aurora plan to comfort him.

 

He motions for them to head out into the hallway, as he passes Aurora, he can’t help but cradle her head and promise he’ll see her tomorrow.  He waves goodbye to the family and heads out to grab a coffee before riding home on the subway.

 

\---

 

Four more articles later and his stomach releases a grumble.  He sighs and looks at the time again, thirty minutes have passed, but the subway will still be packed.  He gnaws on his bottom lip before deciding to pack up and head home.  He takes a deep breath and stands to collect his laptop and research papers, tugging on his navy blue NYU hoodie to protect him from the chilling breeze currently sweeping across New York.  He takes his time saying goodbye to his co workers and walking to the station.  The streets are already rampaging with people trying to get home.

 

The area surrounding the train isn’t any better.  Walking down the stairs, someone rammed into Alec’s shoulder so hard that he tripped down the last step, stumbling to catch himself and holding back a glare for the person who did it.  Thankfully, Alec’s used to New Yorkers lack of manners when it comes to getting somewhere.  As the train pulls up to a stop, Alec takes a deep breath to collect himself and pulls out his headphones to block out the noise.  During rides on the subway, the tightness of the crowd and overwhelming noise is drowned out by a soft piano, whereas when he is walking on the streets he prefers to listen to his audiobooks or podcasts about the latest news in science.  He grabs onto the straps of his backpack and walks in, instantly moving to the opposite side in a corner to grab the top railing, an easy reach for him.  As soon as he’s in, he doesn’t look up.  The overall pungent smells in the air hit his nose and only added onto the stuffiness he felt.

 

The train lurches as it begins heading toward his destination and he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, focusing on the relaxing piano.  It allowed him to drift away, all thoughts forgotten about the crowd of people and the fast movements of the subway.  He pictured his skillful fingers flying over the keys.  His hand resting against his phone in his pocket began to twitch with a need.  His fingers unconsciously moved and tapped out the correct keys and Alec relaxed.

 

His phone vibrating with a text message shocks him into reality.  He opens his eyes but keeps his head low, sliding his phone out to check the message.

 

_Pizza and beers tonight?  Mine and Clary’s treat for helping us move!_

 

Alec sends a quick yes in reply to his brother before shoving the phone back in his pocket and turning up the music.  He just closed his eyes again when he feels a light tap on his shoulder.  His eyes snap open, he pulls out one earphone realizing someone was trying to talk to him.  An older woman was trying to pass by, someone had given up their seat for her and all she wanted to do was sit in it, but Alec was blocking her way, and he was stuck.

 

He already felt dizzy when he looked up and saw how fast they were going, it didn’t help when he could hear the noise of the crowded subway either.  If he let go of the bar above his head, he’s pretty sure he would lose all sense of balance and pass out.

 

“Sonny boy, can I get past you?” the woman asked kindly, staring up at his tall frame.

 

He opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a ragged breath.  His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.  His eyes skimmed over everyone, the city blurring behind them made his dizziness even worse.  He clenched the bar until his knuckles turned white, grounding him.

 

“Hey, man, move aside so she can pass.  What’s wrong with you, huh?” someone rudely interrupts his thoughts to calm down.

 

Alec clenches his jaw in agitation, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before nodding at her.  He could do this.  He holds out one hand to help guide her, and releases his grip from the bar to turn and make room for her to pass.  His balance was completely thrown off, causing him to stumble slightly but managed to stay upright to help her to her seat.

 

As soon as she sat down, she looks up at him and gives him the warmest smile.  Alec smiles tightly back before quickly grabbing onto the bar again to steady himself.

 

The force of the subway coming to its first stop causes his body to lean, confirming Alec’s decision to walk the rest of the way.  As soon as the doors open, he flees and takes the stairs two at a time pushing past people, not caring what they were saying, he needed to breath.  He reached the top step and sighed heavily as the city came into his view.

 

Sure, it was a forty five minute walk to his apartment, but it beats the living hell out of dealing with that again.  He readjusts the straps on his backpack and begins his trek home, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out his mouth like his therapist taught him to do when he was agitated.

 

He’s changing to a new chapter on his audiobook of one of his favorite space exploration novels when someone quite literally runs into him.  Hot coffee spills all over Alec as a hand reaches out to grip his bicep to steady him.

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” the stranger’s voice honest with apology as he swipes napkins down Alec’s sweater.

 

Alec pulls out his headphones and unapologetically reaches his limit.  “Jesus, watch where you’re going,” he pushes away the stranger’s hands reaching out to help him more.

 

The man reels back in surprise.  “Me?  You were the one on your phone listening to music!”

 

Alec takes the time to swipe away at the remaining coffee on his sweater to come up with a snarky comeback because yes, he was looking down at his phone, but he was in the mood to let out some built up frustration from the ride over.

 

_Actually sir, I was listening to an_ audiobook.

 

Alec opens his mouth to retort, looks up at the stranger and stops.  The words dissipate into the chilling breeze as he’s met with deep brown eyes framed in dark makeup to make them pop even more, and they’re glaring at him.  Brows raised and arms crossed, waiting for a reply.

 

When Alec can’t answer, the stranger scoffs and says with a smooth voice, “That’s what I thought, asshole,” before picking up his fallen, and now empty, coffee cup and disposing of it in the trash.

 

“You owe me a coffee, darling,” he simply states, strutting away with a sway to his hips that Alec can’t help turn his body towards, his mouth still hanging open, eyes following until he loses the spiked dark hair in the crowd, no longer able to see the glint of sunlight reflected on his ear cuff.

 

He huffs and runs his hands through his unruly hair, pulling out his phone to check the time.

 

“Shit,” he breathes.  It was getting late and he would be walking for another thirty minutes and smelling like coffee, with too much creamer added, he notices.  He shakes his head.   _No, you don’t care what kind of coffee that handsome man drinks._ He sighs and picks up his pace, ashamed of himself for not being able to handle the ride or crowds, that he’s an asshole who only wishes he had his companion with him.

 

His phone vibrated again with another message from Jace.  He swiped the screen and maneuvered himself through lines of people passing by, making sure to glance up every other second so he doesn’t have a repeat of the incident before.

 

_Dude where r u?  U know Copernicus freaks when u aren’t back by a certain time, he’s barking and whining like crazy._

 

Alec’s heart trips up at the thought of worrying his dog.

 

_Almost there_ , he replies before picking up his pace as dark clouds holding the promise of rain descend upon New York.

 

He sighs in relief when his building finally comes into view.  He says hello to the gentleman behind the front desk like he does every day and takes the stairs two at a time, because fuck standing in a closed off small metal room that moves up and down, plus the stairs give him a good work out, right?

 

His stomach lurches with relief when he can hear Copernicus bark at the familiar sound of his keys jingling in the door lock.  As soon as he opens the door, his dog is on him, jumping up and down excitedly at his best friend returning home, big enough to place his paws on his owner’s stomach.  Alec chuckles fondly and slings his backpack off to the side in the hallway, tugging off his coffee scented sweater before crouching down in front of the chocolate lab to appease his excitement.  He can hear Jace and Clary moving around in the kitchen.

 

“Hey Alec!” Clary greets kindly.

 

“Hello,” he voices back before returning to the excited pup nipping at his hands.

 

“Hi, I know, I know I’m late.  I’m sorry buddy,” he apologizes in the soft tone he always uses with him.

 

Copernicus releases multiple whines while jumping up to put his paws on Alec’s shoulders to lick his face relentlessly.

 

Alec releases a carefree laugh and falls on his butt to hold the dog and better situate himself.  He moves his head this way and that so he doesn’t get an actual kiss in the mouth, it happens way too often, but Copernicus won’t give up.  He was trained to sense when Alec was nervous or about to experience a panic attack, so he always manages to cheer him up with licks, bugging him relentlessly until he can cuddle or convince Alec to go outside and throw a ball.

 

He stops and sits in front of Alec, looking at him expectantly with those big golden eyes and a slight tilt of his head.  Alec can’t help but release a chuckle as his nerves fall away with ease, grabbing his dog’s face and kissing him on the forehead.  He runs his hands up and down the chocolate fur, comforting his pup as well.  Copernicus’ tail wags have slowed down as he allows Alec to pull him on his lap.  He may be too big to carry for most people, but never Alec.  He rests his head on his shoulder while his owner rubs up and down his whole body, letting him know he was there and he was sorry for being late.

 

Alec releases him with one last kiss to his soft ear.  He stands up and his pup follows him to the kitchen, never leaving his side.

 

“You okay?” Jace asks as soon as he enters the kitchen.  Jace reaches for a piece of pizza but Clary slaps his hand away and he makes a noise of protest, looking offended.

 

“Alec first, this is supposed to be our thanks to him for helping us move you dork,” Clary chastises and rolls her eyes.

 

Alec smirked at Jace as he reaches over him for pizza and a beer, allowing himself to have one for the night even though he isn’t supposed to with his medication.

 

“Did you walk again?”

 

Alec turns and walks out of the kitchen, his pup at his side.  “Walking is healthy and it’s nice out,” Alec waves him off dismissively with the hand holding his pizza."  He sits on the couch and twists open his beer, taking a much needed swig.  Copernicus obediently lays down the length of Alec’s leg, his head propped on his knee.  Alec rubs his hand lightly over his pup’s head whose eyes slowly close, finally able to relax now that they are together.

 

Jace scoffs and folds his arms, not believing Alec’s words.  He stands next to the couch giving Alec a stern look that Alec refuses to acknowledge.

 

“Any other reasons you might have walked?”

 

Alec lips turn down, eyebrows raised to feign contemplation as he continues to stroke his dog’s head.  “What reasons?”

 

Jace releases a heavy sigh.  “Come on man, he hasn’t left your side and you haven’t stopped touching him since you got here.”  He takes a beat before softly asking, “Was it the subway again?”

 

Alec sighed, wishing his siblings would stop pestering him with their questions, but he knew it was because they cared.  “It was just a bad time to go,” he mutters.

 

“You mean rush hour when everyone gets off work and is headed home?” Jace quips stubbornly.

 

Clary bounds over and shoves a piece of pizza into Jace’s mouth.  “Leave Alec alone,” she declares before plopping next to Copernicus to stroke the fur on his back.  Strands of hair from her loose bun fall into her face as he moves to roll onto his side for Clary to rub his belly easier.  She giggles and easily gives in to his charm.

 

Alec tenderly smiles down at the two, wondering who will keep his dog company when he has long days at work now that Jace and Clary officially move out by tomorrow.  He can’t leave him in an empty house, he gets just as anxious as Alec when they are separated for too long.

 

Jace plucks the pizza from his mouth after taking a large bite and looks down at the scene.  He sighs, adamant on spending a peaceful last evening living together with his brother rather than fighting the same fight as he decides to join them on the couch.

 

They watch a few episodes of Scrubs before Alec stands to bid them goodnight and heads to his room.  Copernicus lays by the slightly ajar bathroom door while Alec takes a quick shower.

 

A towel wrapped around his waist, he runs his hands on the mirror to clear some of the steam away, pausing when he notices his scars.  He sighs and looks down at his chest, his hand lightly coming up to gently run over the faded white marks left behind from his accident and surgeries.

 

A slight whine broke his thoughts.  He turns his head over his shoulder to see his dog sitting and staring up at him in the doorway, ears set back and tail wagging, waiting for Alec.  He holds his palm out and is instantly nuzzled with a wet nose and soft licks.

 

He chuckles and pets his head before motioning his hand toward the bed.  Copernicus takes off and jumps on the bed to wait, ruffling up the sheets as he walks in a circle in his favorite spot before plopping down with a huff, and Alec’s heart flutters at the familiar sight.

 

He  finishes brushing his teeth and places on a soft t-shirt and sweatpants.  He lifts the covers and slides into his bed, his mattress forming around his body comfortably.  Copernicus lays right against his side, allowing Alec to stroke him until they can both comfortably fall asleep to the sound of rain pattering on the window.

 

\---

 

“I mean, seriously Cat, this guy tells _me_ to watch where I’m going?” Magnus paces through his loft at eleven thirty that night.  He sent a text to his friend telling her to call him whenever her shift was over at the hospital.  His persian cat, Chairman Meow, follows Magnus’ movements across the loft, perched on the windowsill like a loaf of bread, light rain running down the window and distorting the city lights into a mirage of blended colors.

 

Cat laughs over the phone.  “Magnus, did it ever occur to you that this guy might have been having a bad day?”

 

“Does it occur to you that maybe he’s just a tall, dark and handsome brooding asshole?” he quips stubbornly.

 

“Hmm, well I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing him as you did apparently.  Tall, dark and handsome huh?”

 

“Very,” Magnus pathetically whimpers, dramatically collapsing on the couch.  “From what I gathered the thirty seconds I saw him,” he quickly adds, his hand flourishing in the air.

 

“But he was wearing an NYU sweater, so he’s probably too young, right?”

 

Magnus bites his lip to hold back his honest answer.

 

“Magnus,” his friend groans disapprovingly.

 

He rolls his eyes and smirks.  “Right.”  He sighs as he looks down at the stack of papers piling on his kitchen table.  “I better get back to work if I want these graded by the end of the week.  Meet up for lunch this weekend?”

 

He could hear her smile over the phone.  “Of course.  Good luck grading, try not to think about Mr. Tall and Sexy,” she laughs before hanging up.

 

“Not fair,” Magnus mutters.  He collects himself at the kitchen table and gets back to work before heading to bed.

 

\---

 

_Alec readjusts the temperature to warm up the car as Max lets out a slight shiver in the passenger seat.  Fast asleep, he rests on his left side as comfortably as one can while sitting up and wearing a seat belt.  His left elbow resides on the console in between his and Alec’s seats, his fist failing at holding his head up as he slowly slumps to the side before shooting up straight again, only to fall right back asleep._

 

_Alec chuckles fondly and turns down the music.  When he comes to visit from work in Maryland, Max happily joins him for a little trip to an observatory for Alec to conduct his research for his latest project at NASA, but Alec also loves escaping there to get away from everyone.  In the observatory it’s just him and the stars, no noisy crowds or the pressure of deadlines for his job._

_The road in front of them seems to grow endless, and before he knew it, there was only blackness surrounding them.  There was no scenery, only the front lights of his car illuminating the concrete road and nothing else._

 

_Then, tires screech loudly and lights are blazing in from the right side.  Alec only has time to press on the breaks and wrap an arm around Max before their car is slammed into a tree._

 

_Pain.  The only thing Alec feels is agonizing pain, his heart aching with fear.  He grunts and clenches his jaw, trying to hold back a miserable moan.  He shakes his head and starts to come to.  His window was smashed, broken glass drew blood from his face.  He reached to swipe away some of the blood and hisses in agony.  His left arm was immobile and pinned against the tree and the shattered remains of his door.  It hurt like hell to breath and move any one muscle, but that didn’t matter._

 

_All that mattered was Max.  Still wrapped in his arm, Alec moved to check if he was okay, causing Max to release a weak whimper._

 

_“My leg, Alec my leg…” he shuddered.  Then he released a blood curling scream of agony that would haunt Alec for the rest of his life._

 

\---

 

Alec releases a raspy gasp in his sleep as his chest heaves with the memory of the pain.

 

With a wet lick to his face and a weight on his chest, his eyes snap open to meet big golden ones staring right back.  Copernicus lays half sprawled on Alec, licking his face softly to wake him up more.

 

Alec sighs through his heaving and attempts to slow his breathing, bringing a hand up to stroke at the soft fur to help calm himself down while the other runs down his features to wipe away the sweat.

 

Copernicus releases a short, high pitched whine as he stares at Alec.  His ears lay back, he rests his head on Alec’s shoulder as he allows his owner to pet him.

 

“Thanks boy,” Alec whispers to his companion.  He brings a shaking hand to pull his dog close and kiss him on the head, returning back to his ministrations.  As time passes, Alec’s heart rate begins to slow, his anxieties creeping away with every stroke of the velvety soft fur.  But still, worry courses through him.

 

He reaches over to his nightstand to grab his phone while his other hand lightly strokes his dog.  His fingers scroll through his latest thread of messages with Max just before going to work today.  Max has been busy with his classes and training animals at the Good Dog Foundation, but they managed to find free time to meet up over the coming weekend.  It was a rule they had to never go more than two weeks without seeing each other, and they’ve managed it for the past three years since the accident.

 

Alec looks out his window at the night drifting over New York.  Wishing away the troubles of his separation anxiety, he sighs and locks his phone before placing it back on his nightstand by a stack of novels.  His eyes drift to the right of his window where a galaxy poster is hung.

 

_“The darkest night produces the brightest stars,”_ it read.

 

He scoffs at the memory of Izzy giving it to him.  Placed there as a reminder that people who have gone through pain, consumed by a darkness, shine twice as bright through their wisdom and strength.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

 

Wrong.  It was bullshit.  Shit happens, life is unfair, and you just deal with it.   

 

Copernicus lays on him the rest of the night as Alec attempted to sleep again.  His eyes burned as he looked over at the clock.

 

3 am.

 

He rolls on his side to alleviate the psychosomatic pain from his chest and arm.  As he rolls over, his thoughts drift back to the stranger’s beautiful brown eyes, his hair, hell his overall facial features and body were beautiful.  The sway of his hips and his ass as he walked away…

 

Copernicus interrupts his train of thought with a nudge at the comforter so Alec could lift the sheets, giving him access to crawl under and settle against his owner’s stomach and chest, his head slightly rests on the pillow.  Alec’s lips quirk up slightly as he wraps him up in his blankets, placing his face against his fur.

  
Exhaustion soon seeps into every muscle of Alec’s aching body from the nightmare and he finally manages to get a few more hours of dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

* * *

 


	2. The Gravity of His Stare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can you lead them out? I have to do something real quick,” he murmurs. 
> 
> “Does it have anything to do with a certain teacher?” he teases as he nudges his elbow in Alec’s side. Alec doesn’t budge, only squints one eye that was soon to turn into a glare.
> 
> Simon clears his throat and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I mean yeah I can do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely little readers! The response to the first chapter blew me away, thank you so much for the positivity!
> 
> This would not have been posted without the help of the greatest betas in the world @blj2007 and @damnyoudaddario, i love you both more than Magnus loves coffee in his creamer ;)
> 
> Enjoy reading my darlings! <3

 

 

**_“His eyes were like galaxies, and everyone could get lost in them.  How many stars flickered there, no one knew, but every time he glanced upon someone, a new star ignited, a new star caught in the gravity of his stare” - Dean F. Wilson_ **

 

* * *

 

 

There’s a knock on his office door before Luke peaks his head in.  “Hey Alec, you all set for today?”

 

Alec’s tired eyes look up from his computer screen at the same time his dog excitedly runs over to Luke, begging to be petted and caressed as if he wasn’t loved enough.  Luke chuckles and gives in easily, crouching down to receive a couple of generous, wet kisses.

 

Alec smiles and hums in confirmation.  “Yeah, just catching up on some research before Aurora’s class gets here.”

 

“Tell that little munchkin I miss her, isn’t that right boy?” he laughs, asking the pup as he rolls over for Luke to scratch his belly.

 

Alec chuckles.  “Take a break from your project and come have lunch with us today,” he suggests without a second thought.

 

“You drive a hard bargain kid,” he looks up at Alec.  “Fine, pull my leg, I’ll come have lunch with you and your precious goddaughter,” he said dramatically.

 

Alec huffs before rolling his eyes.  “You’re really sacrificing a lot, duly noted.”

 

He whistles for Copernicus to come back to him so he can hook his leash through his therapy dog vest.  He was going to be keeping Luke company while Alec worked the tours today.  Alec wouldn’t normally bring him on a tour day because he hates leaving him in his office, but with his nightmares returning and Jace moving out, he felt they could both use some comfort.  The subway ride over was easier this morning.  It was conveniently open enough for Alec to grab a seat and pop in his headphones while his companion sat right in front of him.  Alec stayed leaned on his elbows to pet Copernicus the whole time and it just made things that much easier.  Plus, Copernicus was always excited to get to go to work with Alec, he wasn’t a shy dog, he loved brightening people’s days with his overly joyed face and sweet kisses.   

 

Alec leans down to grab his pup’s face with both hands and kiss his head before gently adding, “You’re gonna hang out with Luke, but I’ll see you in a bit buddy, okay?”  Copernicus barks and follows his owner as Alec hands Luke a bag full of dog food and toys.  

 

Luke gives him a comforting smile.  “See you at lunch?”

 

Alec nods his head, returning a tight smile as he runs a hand along the light stubble on his cheeks and chin before placing his hands on his hips.

 

Luke tugs a little for Copernicus to follow, but the dog remains by his owner’s side.  He looks up at Alec, his eyes asking if it was safe to leave him.  Alec fondly huffs before motioning his hand in Luke’s direction.

 

“Go on, I’ll see you later,” he promises.  Copernicus gives him one last look, ears set back, tail wagging before trotting after Luke.  “Be good!” he exclaims as they walk down the hall.  Copernicus barks as if to answer.  Alec chuckles, “I meant Luke.”  

 

Luke quirks his brow, squints his eyes and points a finger at him as he heads down the hallway and Alec can’t help but laugh.  He’s known Luke for years and has done many research projects with him.   

 

After his accident, Alec was urged to cease work at the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA located in Greenbelt, Maryland.  Alec would sometimes sleep at work and wake up only to get right back to conducting more research and making sure everything would fly smoothly for the rocket launching the James Webb Telescope.  But after the accident, his doctor, therapist, bosses and siblings told him it would be unhealthy for him to be in such a stressful environment all day long.   Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagine having to let go of NASA, but his PTSD and separation anxiety from his family got the better of him.  

 

Luke helped him a lot with assimilating into a comfortable work environment after the accident and he thanked the stars above for meeting him. He was an important part of Alec’s family.

 

He checks his watch and curses, his niece's class should be arriving soon.  He closes the files on his computer, runs a hand through his hair and double checks that he has everything before heading out to the front lobby.

 

Alec leans his hip against the counter of the front desk near the entrance of the planetarium where his longtime friend and coworker, Lydia, was showing a map to some tourists.  He held his tablet in his hand while he skimmed through the latest research Simon has posted about the exoplanet.  Still nothing, but that was to be expected.  However, Alec couldn’t help the wave of sadness he held for his brother in-law, wishing he could help speed up the process.  After helping conduct the rocket propulsion to launch the Mars rover mission, Alec knew all about waiting anxiously to see if his work had been decimated.

 

“Uncle Alec!”

 

Alec turns just in time to see his niece before she comes crashing into his legs, arms wrapped around his waist as a head digs into his hip.  Alec releases an ‘oof’ and laughs before crouching down to properly hug her.  “Rory,” he calls her by her nickname tenderly as he digs his nose into her hair.  His spirits lift instantly as she laughs into his shoulder and tightens her hold around his neck.

 

Alec gives her a kiss on her long dark hair.  “How’s my sun, moon and stars hmm?” he murmurs softly with one last gentle squeeze.

 

She leans back and holds onto the collar of his work shirt, excitedly jumping up and down.  “Great!  I can’t wait to show my class around!”

 

Alec chuckles as he takes in her shirt that says “Pluto, that’s no moon” most likely worn for her dad, Star Wars obsessions run deep in the family.  

 

Aurora had been very shy growing up.  It was difficult for her to make friends, but ever since she entered the school year with a new teacher, she has been coming out of her shell more often and Alec was eternally grateful for it.  She’s a smart, beautiful girl who just didn’t know how to express herself properly yet.  She talks very highly of Mr. Bane, but Alec hadn’t, up to this point, had a chance to meet him.

 

“Well I can’t wait to show your classmates around either and teach them a thing or two.”  He squints one eye suspiciously.  “You wanna help me?”

 

“Yeah!” she squeals, bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.  Alec laughs freely and kisses her forehead.

 

“Okay, what did we talk about?” he face turning serious as he gives her a pointed look.

 

“To not answer every single question and let my class have a chance since I’m so super smart and know everything but I shouldn’t be a show off,” she repeats word for word what her uncle has told her, her big brown eyes look up at the ceiling, tiny specks of hazel glint in the sunlight through the floor to ceiling glass wall.  The freckles ranging across her nose remind him of constellations.

 

He smirks at her and nods his head.

 

“Aurora, what did I say about staying with the class sweet pea- oh,” came a familiar smooth silky voice from the right of Alec.

 

He turns and is met the same dark eyes lightly covered in makeup from the day before.  Ebony hair spiked up and swooping to the side a little, black professional pants and a tucked-in blue button down wrapped in a waistcoat.  Alec slowly drags his eyes down the necklaces of all sorts of lengths and shiny objects adorning his neck, some disappearing into his shirt that Alec wouldn’t have minded unbuttoning to discover.  His heart flutters and he swallows down the nerves of confronting possibly the most gorgeous guy he has ever laid his eyes upon.  A guy who he had been an asshole to in the midst of a stressful time.  He goes to stand and shake the man’s hand, hoping to turn a new leaf, especially in front of the kids.  He opens his mouth to introduce himself, but finds his words are lost in the spark of amusement flashing in the teacher’s eyes.

 

Alec can tell the man recognizes him as he notices his hesitation, his mouth slightly hanging open before clearing his throat and saying, “You must be Isabelle’s brother.”  He grabs Alec’s hand firmly, his eyes rake up and down Alec’s body and he has to try his best to conceal his blush.

 

Upon contact, there is a slight spark that flows through their fingertips and Alec sucks in a sharp breath.  As soon as they touch, the other man’s eyes widen for a second, almost as if he felt it too, but the look vanishes as he quickly composes himself in front of his students.

 

“Uh-um… r-right, yes, Izzy is my sister,” he stutters, still shaking the smooth hand of who he can only assume to be Mr. Bane.  He realizes he’s probably shook for too long and coughs to hide his blush, bringing his hand to rest on Aurora’s shoulder.  “You must be Mr. Bane.  This is my goddaughter, she says you’re her top favorite teacher.”  

 

 _I wouldn’t mind you being on top,_ his thoughts betrayed him and he has to hold back a groan.

 

He looks down as Aurora grasps at his fingers, a nervous trait she obtained when placed in the spotlight, but secretly loving the attention.  She beams up at her uncle excitedly, courage courses through every squeeze of their fingers as his other hand runs through her thick hair, sending her a sweet smile in return.

 

“Well she’s definitely one of my top favorite students, but we agreed not to tell anyone, right?” he lifts his brow questioningly at her.

 

“Right,” she nods her head in all the seriousness she could muster before releasing a giggle.

 

Magnus winks at her and goes to turn around, but thinks better of it and swivels back to face Alec.  “Call me Magnus,” he says low enough, only for Alec’s ears.  He then sends Alec a smirk over his shoulder before motioning for his class to gather around them.  

 

Alec has to mentally calm his body down and force his mouth shut as his jaw drops open in astonishment.  He clears his throat as he gathers himself, forcing out thoughts of the beautiful man in front of him.  It was time to work, not to flirt.  He could do both, right?  No, no no, unprofessional.  Plus, he could just be fucking with Alec.  Who would be interested in him anyway?  Mr. Bane was way out his league.  Alec shakes his head.  No, _Magnus_ was way out of his league.

 

Alec mutters a curse and takes a deep breath to compose himself, again.  He purses his lips and holds his hands in front of him, standing a little taller, ready to get down to business... _to defeat the huns._

 

 _Dammit Clary._  Why did she have to show Aurora Mulan?  Disney movies and soundtracks are repeatedly played in the Lightwood-Lewis household whenever he visits them.

  
Alec perks up when he notices Aurora inching toward another little girl, her poofy hair tamed into two braids with a bow at each end.  She’s been telling him about a new friend that she’s made recently, but she hasn’t reached the stage of begging for a play date yet.  When it happens though, Alec will happily oblige.

 

The class circles around while Magnus explains the schedule for their day.  Alec shifts from foot to foot anxiously, his thumb digging into the palm of his other hand as his nerves flow throughout his body, his heart rate picks up like it always does before he starts a tour.  A pen is thrown at him from the side and hits his arm, and he looks over curiously.  Lydia gives him a knowing look, glancing between him and his hands, then at Magnus.  Alec huffs and turns back to the class, he wrings out his hands once and holds them behind his back, waiting patiently.

 

“And after lunch we will continue with the rest of the tour until it’s time to head back to school.  Now...” Magnus swirls to give Alec a questioning look.

 

“Alec,” he responds, surprised he could manage to not stutter over himself again.

 

Magnus’ lips quirk up, eyes locked with his.  “Alexander here will be leading our tour today.”  His name rolling off his tongue sends chills down Alec’s spine.

 

Alec bites the inside of his cheek to conceal his smile and looks down at the group of first graders.  “Is everyone ready to learn about space?” he asks enthusiastically.

 

“Yeah!” the kids shout in excitement, faces beaming at him, and Alec loved every second of it.

 

He motions for the kids to follow him as he begins to move down the hallway to their first stop.  He turns and walks backwards to face the class and engage with them easier, his nerves falling away as he comfortably settles into his tour guide persona.  “Okay, our first stop coming up here is a replica of our very own solar system.  Now, does anyone know the name of the solar system we live in?”

 

A little boy raises his hand, and Alec is about to call on him before his goddaughter shouts, “The Milky Way!”

 

His head bows at her disapprovingly, causing her to quickly put her hand over her mouth with a guilty look.

 

Alec chuckles, “Yes, the milky way.”  He turns and points to the giant replica of planets that fill up most of the room as they continue walking.  “Can anyone tell me the name of the planet closest to the sun-,” his goddaughter’s hand shoots up in the air, “anyone, that isn’t Aurora?” he shakes his head fondly at her.

 

She deflates and huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.  The girl Aurora has become friends with raises her hand.

 

Magnus perks up and calls on her.  “Yes, Madzie?”

 

“Mercury?” Madzie asks timidly, playing with the bow at the end of her braid.

 

“You are absolutely correct!” Alec states proudly.  She sways her shoulders back and forth and releases a small smile.  Standing next to her, Aurora holds up her hand for a high five.  Madzie only furrows her brow in confusion as she stares at the hand, almost as if she was unsure what to do with it, then hesitantly holds hers up as well.  Aurora gives her a sweet smile and a gentle high five.  Madzie smiles back in return and Alec’s heart clenches at the adorable scene.  She looks back at her uncle so he can continue.

 

He gives her a smile of approvement and nods his head before walking backwards again.  He leads the class around the replica of the solar system, stopping at every station that held information on each planet, informing them of how they formed and what made them so unique and different from the other.  

 

Alec would be having as much fun as the kids if his body didn’t heat up every time Magnus rested his eyes on him.   _Seriously, did he have to have such soft, inviting eyes?_

 

Nonetheless, Alec continued on with the tour, concealing his blush as best as he could and the fact that he couldn’t help but check out Magnus when no one was looking.  The man had the nerve to roll up his sleeves, exposing the beautiful skin on his forearms, the tightness of his shirt only accentuated his biceps and Alec unknowingly licked his lips.  

 

He decided he really needed to stop ogling once Magnus’ assistant teacher, Maia, caught him almost drooling when Magnus bent over for a student to whisper in his ear.  She hid her laugh behind her hand, turning it into coughing fit and Alec’s cheeks burned bright.  Lunch time needed to hurry up.

 

\---

 

Magnus thanked the fashion gods above when their lunch break arrived. Between Alexander’s glowing hazel eyes and the way he used his hands to talk, those long fingers attempting to tame his unruly hair, he didn’t know how much more he could take.  He wondered how soft his locks were as he pictured his own hands running through it.  But being in front of his class, Magnus had no choice but to discreetly and shamelessly stare at Alexander’s biceps as he stretched his arms behind his back, rolling his head to relieve tension from his neck and shoulders.  Magnus could help relieve that tension, in fact, he could help all night long.  

 

He couldn’t stop laying his eyes on him, the man was a walking sin.  Who could resist that?  

 

During lunch time, Magnus’ class gathered and sat around a few tables within eye distance so he and Maia could make sure they don’t run off to play with the holograms, again.

 

Magnus watches as Alec and Aurora sit together eating their lunch a table away.  Aurora throws her head back in laughter as a squeal rushes out of her lips and Alec just as quickly follows her, his laugh deep and care free.  Magnus takes in the crinkles around his eyes when he smiles or laughs openly, which seemed to be easy enough with his niece.  His eyes drag down to those plump lips as he licks at them again.   _Ugh._ Magnus could picture what it would feel like to have that light stubble of five o’clock shadow drag along his cheek and neck with sweet, slow kisses from those soft delectable lips-

 

_Enough daydreaming Bane, you don’t even know if he would be interested.. oh please, who wouldn’t be interested? But, he’s an asshole.  Yup, a total asshole...who is unbearably sweet and caring towards children, extremely smart and sexy and oh god-_

 

Someone tugs at the end of his shirt and he looks down, shaking his daydream out of his head.

 

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” Xander pleads, his brows creased in worry, crossing his legs a little while he does a little dance so he doesn’t pee his pants.

 

Magnus chuckles and stands to guide him by the shoulder.  “Does anyone else need to use the restroom before we continue with the tour?”

 

Two more boys join him and Magnus leads them to the bathroom just next to the lunch area.  He stands outside waiting for the last boy, holding himself back from letting his eyes wandering over to a certain someone.  He settles on turning to look at the space photography adorning the walls of the hallway.  Some of them are of New York, and Magnus sucks in a sharp breath at the sight of thousands of stars lighting the sky.  Living in Brooklyn, he had never seen so many stars before.  He walks down the hall a little further and finds photographs of mountains and trees darkened by night, but the sky aglow with clusters of stars.  He stares in awe at them, his mouth slightly hanging open, his brows quirked, arms crossed his chest as he’s lost in thought.

 

“Magnus!” a voice shouts down the hallway.  He looks over, recognizing that voice he hasn’t heard in awhile.

 

“Luke,” Magnus breathes out and laughs as his friend walks to him and pulls him in for a tight hug.

 

“It has been too long, my man,” Luke says as he pulls back with a big grin.

 

“It really has.  How’s Jocelyn?”

 

“She’s good!  Currently obsessing over Clary moving in with Jace and wondering how that’s going to work, but I think she’ll be fine.  If she can live with him and his brother for two years, she can handle anything.  You like the photography?” Luke gestures to the walls.

 

Magnus nods and turns to look at them again.  “Yeah, where did you guys get these pictures?”

 

“Jace and Izzy’s brother, Alec, takes them.  He loves doing it and they come out so beautiful.  He’s leading your tour right?”

 

Magnus is taken back by Luke’s answer, he really wasn’t expecting that.  He thought maybe a well-known artist did them and the planetarium purchased them, but no.  The more he learns about Alexander Lightwood, the more impressed he is.  This man was seriously talented _and_ he’s good looking?  How was Magnus supposed to survive the rest of the tour with these thoughts swirling in his head?

 

He can only nod, not trusting his voice to sound steady.  He turns and his gaze settles on Alec, who is obliging all of Xander’s excited questions as he bounces up and down next to their lunch table.  Alec laughs at his enthusiasm and uses his hands animatedly to answer his questions.

 

“Beautiful,” Magnus murmurs.  He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and swirls to Luke.  “Care to join us for lunch?”

 

Luke smirks and begins walking toward Alec, “I was already on my way over.”

 

Magnus smiles and joins him in step.

 

Luke crouches down a little and quietly comes up behind Aurora as she greedily inhales in her sandwich.  Alec notices and smirks over his shoulder at them before swirling around in his chair, pretending he doesn’t see him.  Luke waits a second before tickling her on either side.  She screams and spits some of her food on the table and Luke erupts into laughter with the rest of the class.

 

Aurora turns around quickly, her mouth hanging open in shock, but amusement flares in her eyes.  She gets up to swat at Luke but he jumps out of her reach, which causes her to start chasing him around the tables.

 

“Luuuuke!” she whines, trying to catch him.

 

Magnus chuckles lightly at the sight and takes the opportunity to sit in an open seat across from Alec, ignoring how the man’s eyes bore straight into him as he sat down.

 

Luke runs back over to their table and plops down in her spot, taking a small bite of her snack, pretending nothing happened.  She comes up behind him and jumps on his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

 

Luke attempts his best fake surprised face and laughs.  “I didn’t do anything!  It was all Alec!” he points an accusatory finger at him.

 

Arms still locked around Luke, she looks over at her uncle with her mouth hanging open in shock.

 

Alec holds his hands out in surrender.  “Hey hey, it wasn’t me!” he tries to convince her but she still jumps on him.  He laughs as he catches her and brings her into a tight squeeze against his chest that leaves her squealing in delight.  “Alright, alright you little monkey, simmer down and finish your food so we can continue with the tour,” he demands in a playful tone.  But Magnus notices his face turn serious for a second as he tries to subtly wring out the hand that he used to catch Aurora under the table

 

Luke must have noticed too because he says softly, “Let’s let your uncle eat in peace, kiddo.”

 

“It’s fine, Luke,” Alec smiles tightly in appreciation.

 

She giggles and settles in his lap as Luke hands her the rest of her food, their energy calming down.  Alec keeps one arm wrapped around her while she hand feeds him a bite of her snack.  He rests his chin on her head while he chews, using his free hand to scroll through his tablet.

 

Magnus turns away from the tender scene to pick at the black polish on his fingernails.  “Where’s Simon?  I figured he would be joining us today.”

 

Luke nodded and swallowed the rest of his food he has managed to scarf down in just a few minutes.  “He’s still held up with some research right now, but he’ll join us soon.”  He looks over at Alec.  “I figured Copernicus could keep him some company to help with his stress.”

 

Alec hums and nods his head in agreement as he continues his reading, chewing every bite his goddaughter feeds to him.

 

Magnus is about to ask who Copernicus is, but gets interrupted by his students.

 

“Mr. Bane, we’re done with our food.  Can we please go now?” they asked impatiently, big doe eyes begging from every student surrounding him.

 

He gives a short laugh before looking up and meeting hazel eyes staring right back.  He nods his head in Alec’s direction.  “Ask Mr. Tour Guide.”

 

All the kid’s heads swivel to look at Alec in expectancy.  His eyes hold Magnus’ for a second longer before he snorts and orders, “Gather your belongings and we can head out.”

 

“Yay!” the class shouts before scurrying around to throw away their trash and grab their packs.

 

Alec sneaks in one last bite of his sandwich before plucking Aurora from his lap and setting her on the ground.  Magnus gets up as well to help gather everyone together, counting his kids.

 

Once everyone is gathered together, Alec turns around to walk backwards again.  “Okay, our next part of the tour is one of my absolute favorite things that we do here,” he explains with his hands.

 

Apparently Aurora knows what’s coming next as Magnus notices her start to wiggle with excitement, Luke’s grip on her hand grounding her, but sporting a grin proving that he was equally as excited.  Magnus’ heart flutters in anticipation for his kids.  He was so thankful Simon could get them in on such short notice.

 

“What is it?” Xander shouts from the front of the group.

 

Alec only smirks and turns around, his hands held behind his back as he leads them upstairs.  Magnus can’t help but let his eyes wander lower at the glorious view displayed as they head up to the second floor.  He scoffs and rolls his eyes.   _Of course he has a great ass._

 

Alec stops by double doors and peaks his head in to make sure everything is set up.  Simon, from inside the room, nods in confirmation and holds open the door for the kids.  At first glance, it appeared to be just a dark circular room that contained one hundred seats spread throughout and filling up the space.  Lights lit up the walkways and the adults helped the kids to find a seat.

 

Magnus was going to sit and join them, until he looked over and spotted Alec standing off to the side next to a control panel.  Luke and Simon sat with Aurora and settled into their seats, barely able to contain their excitement for what was to come.

 

Magnus decides it’s better to observe his class rather than join them, at least that what he tells himself when he walks over to Alexander.  He looks up in surprise from where he’s messing with the control panel, his eyes widening before a his lips quirk up slightly.  The red and blue lights from the controls light up his face in the dark room and Magnus gulps at the softness displayed on his features.  He clears his throat and turns to face his class.

 

“Is everyone ready?”

 

“Yeah!” the class shouts in unison.

 

Alec chuckles and presses a button that allows their seats to recline into a laying position.  Giggles fill through the room as everyone settles in comfortably.  Magnus peaks over and sees Alec smirk before pressing another button, his smile holding the promise of something beautiful to come.  And he was right.  The next thing he knows, the ceiling has opened up into outer space.  Stars illuminate every surface of the dome over them.

 

Magnus sucks in a sharp breath and his eyes widen, mesmerized by the screen slowly flying them around the Earth.  Oohs and ahhs filter throughout the space of the dome they are in.  

 

The high definition and detail of every star moving around them as they fly through the galaxy was breathtaking.  Magnus had never experienced something like this before, it was completely mesmerizing.

 

\---

 

Alec was completely mesmerized by Magnus as he stared into the vastness of space.  Alec has seen this so many times, and it’s beautiful.  He never gets tired of it, but he can’t help but look to his right at the man standing next to him.   

 

The students all gasped as they fly out to distant planets, whereas Alec gasps when Magnus releases a beautiful, soft smile as he gazes upward.  He seemed to be completely open and unaware of the beauty he was displaying.  The stern, pissed off face Alec first met is replaced with the innocence of childlike wonder.  And Alec knew, right then and there, he wanted to put that look on Magnus’ face again.  He wanted to show him how the stars shine for him.  

 

That was what he wanted, but what he needed was to properly apologize to him if he ever hoped to see him again.  He turns back to look at the stars, but not before taking one last look at Magnus.  The soft blue light reflecting from the stars accentuated his sharp jaw line.  Alec noticed how much his adams apple actually stood out, his eyes trail down to where his necklaces glinted in the hints of light in the dark room, his eyes literally reflecting the constellations as they flew past them on the big screen above.  

 

 _His eyes were like galaxies, and everyone could get lost in them,_ Alec quoted to himself in his head.  And it was true, he could get lost staring at Magnus, he would happily lose himself to the flicker of stars in his chocolate brown eyes.

 

He sucks in a ragged breath as his heart clenches at the thought of bringing Magnus back here, just the two of them gazing at the stars all night.  He places his hands behind and fiddles with them as he stands taller to look out over the class.  Guilt ate away in his chest at his behavior towards Magnus yesterday, and he didn’t know how to make up for it.  He definitely wanted to see him again , but considering he could barely speak to the man, he didn't know if he could ask him out.  Was asking him out something he wanted to do?

 

Alec can practically hear his sister in his head telling him to stop overthinking the situation.  Just apologize and move on.  Yeah, he could do that.

 

He’s shocked to hear the automated voice in the video begin to fade away as it came to an end.  Where did the time go?  Was he really thinking about Magnus that long?  

 

The kids whine in unison and begrudgingly get up from their seats as the lights flicker back on.

 

Alec smiles fondly at them as they all pass by him into the hallway to line up.  As the last kid leaves the room, Alec catches Simon’s eyes and nods at him to come over.

 

“Can you lead them out?  I have to do something real quick,” he murmurs.

 

“Does it have anything to do with a certain teacher?” he teases as he nudges his elbow in Alec’s side.  Alec doesn’t budge, only squints one eye that was soon to turn into a glare.

 

Simon clears his throat and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  “I mean yeah I can do that.”  He begins to head out into the hallway after the class before quickly turning around and holding up a finger.  “Oh!  And thanks for letting Copernicus hang out with me, he really does help.  Well, I probably played with him more than worked so that’s technically counterproductive in a sense but also very therapeutic and-” the words rushing out of his mouth are cut off as Alec walks over to clap a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile.  Simon releases a breathless laugh layered in exhaustion.

 

“Anytime Si, let me know if I can do anything else to help with research,” he mutters softly.  Simon sends him a grateful nod before Alec heads down the hallway and down the stairs to the cafeteria area.  

 

He walks over to the coffee cart where employees are allowed to take as much as they want.  He doesn’t know exactly what Magnus was drinking yesterday, but based off of the smell of his sweater it couldn’t have been that hard to decipher.  Just add in a shit ton of creamer.

 

He hurries as he spots Aurora’s class gathering around to collect their backpacks at the front desk.  He stirs in the creamer while walking over.  Maia and Magnus were counting their kids, making sure everyone had all of their belongings.  Simon holds a sleepy Aurora in his arms as they wait for Izzy to pick them up.  While they wait, he answers all of the kids last minute questions, making sure that they had a good a time.

 

Alec stands off to the side, leaning his elbow against the front desk as he takes in the care that Magnus emanates towards his kids.   _Fuck, he had to be a teacher._  The hot cup of coffee almost burns his hand, but it grounds him and keeps his mind drifting from certain thoughts that were inappropriate at the moment.  

 

“You just going to stare or are you actually going to do something about it?” Lydia’s voice comes from behind the desk.  His head snaps toward her in disbelief.  Her golden hair braided back into a ponytail contrasts against her black work shirt.  Her only response is to wiggle her brows suggestively at him.  He scoffs, but his eyes still turn back to the beautiful man.

 

“Copernicus is asleep on my feet by the way, Simon dropped him off here thirty minutes ago.”

 

Alec curiously leans over the desk, and sure enough his dog was passed out, body resting on Lydia’s feet, thankfully her job required her to sit.  He smiles down fondly and nods his head in thanks.

 

“I seriously can’t move Alec, he’s too cute, I don’t know how you deal with this all day,” she whines but Alec knows how much his coworkers love his dog, and how much his dog loves them in return.

 

He shrugs one shoulder and sighs dramatically, voice laced with sarcasm as he says, “I know, he’s the worst dog ever.”  

 

He perks up and makes his way over when he sees Magnus has a second to himself as his kids are loaded into the bus.  He takes a deep breath and stands next to him, observing the kids.  He holds the coffee out so Magnus can see it.

 

He looks over at the cup, his brows furrow as he looks up curiously to meets Alec’s eyes.

 

“Sorry about your coffee yesterday, a-and generally just being an asshole to you,” Alec attempts to apologize, his eyes looking everywhere except at Magnus, where they desired to be.

 

There’s a beat of silence before he hears, “Thank you, Alexander,” and soft hands caress his slightly as they grab the cup.  

 

Alec snaps his attention back to Magnus, the soft look in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice made Alec’s heart soar.   _Play it cool._  He shrugs a shoulder dismissively, handing over the cup and waving it off as if it wasn’t a big deal, while on the inside he was panicking.

 

Magnus brings the cup to his mouth and takes a sip.  Alec isn’t quick enough to warn him about the temperature before he makes a noise of protest as his mouth fills with hot coffee.

 

Alec holds out one hand to help, but doesn’t know what to do so it stays in between them.  “Oh shit, it’s really hot, I should have warned you,” he scolds himself as panic flashes in his eyes.

 

Magnus waves him off and swallows the coffee with a grimace.  “No darling, that wasn’t it,” the ring on his index finger glints in the sunlight as he points a finger accusingly at the cup.  “This coffee is terrible and it simply won’t do for an apology,” he chastises.

 

Alec is scrambling for words as his mouth opens and closes to respond somehow.  He asks for Magnus to elaborate, “I-i’m...i’m sorry?”

 

Alec recognises the flash of amusement in his eyes as he stares at him.   “If you really want to make it up to me, you can buy me a drink at my favorite coffee shop, Cafe Fray,” he bites his lip to conceal his smile as he adds a little sway to his shoulders, his eyes unwavering with a strong hold on Alec’s.

 

Alec squints one eye and furrows his brow, recognizing Clary’s mother’s shop name and wondering Magnus’ ties to it.  “The one on 21st street?”  

 

“Is there another one that I’m unaware of?”  Magnus teases, tapping his fingers on the lid of his cup.  Alec couldn’t tell if he was flirting or making fun of him.

 

Alec runs a hand over the light stubble on his cheeks and chin, he releases a breathless laugh at the whole situation.  This was not how he thought this was going to go.  Was Magnus Bane asking him out?  He can feel his cheeks begin to burn with blush.  He feigns contemplation with his eyes looking around the room in thought, holding his hands behind his back.  He hums and looks back to meet light brown eyes, eyebrows raised in anticipation.  His lips quirk up.  “If that’s what it takes to make it up to you, then okay.”

 

Magnus hums in delight as his eyes flare with something new.  “Oh, darling, there are many ways you could-”

 

“Magnus, everyone is ready to go,” Maia cuts him off from somewhere behind him, but Alec is stuck in a trance with his mouth hanging open, his mind filling with images of what Magnus would consider ‘making it up to him.’

 

Magnus turns to look over his shoulder at her, nodding his head.  “Coming,” he says.  Alec’s heart flutters and his stomach stirs as even more images filled his head.   _Fuck._  Would he even survive a coffee date?  Magnus turns back to give him one last wink.  “I look forward to seeing you, Alexander,” he mutters with a smug look before walking toward the bus to join his class.  He turns to wave a goodbye at Aurora, still cradled in her dad’s arms, who waves back softly in her sleepy state.  Nope, he definitely won’t survive.

 

Once Magnus boards the bus and he loses sight of him, he walks back over to the front desk to wake his dog.  Lydia smiles at him as he comes around the back and squats down next to her to gently wake his pup with a few caressing strokes.  As Copernicus’ tired eyes look up to see Alec, his tail begins to wag as he stretches to get up and greet his owner.  Alec chuckles and pats his head affectionately as he wakes up.  “Thanks for watching him.”

 

Lydia released a dramatic sigh.  “It was a lot of work, but I survived.”  He gives her a knowing look as he grabs Copernicus’ leash and stands.  She returns the look and glances down at Copernicus, holding out her hand for a shake.  “Thank you for the lovely company, sir,” she addresses him like a gentleman.  He proudly places his paw in her hand and leans to lick her nose in delight, leaving Lydia with a soft smile on her face as she returns to her work.

 

Alec is about to walk over to say goodbye to Aurora when he spots Simon whispering in his wife’s ear.  Izzy gasps and puts a hand to her mouth before her eyes shoot over to Alec’s.  A knowing grin crosses her face as she wiggles her brows at him and waves him over.  He thinks better of it and starts walking in the opposite direction to his office to avoid the conversation he knew was about to happen.

 

“Uncle Alec!” he hears his niece shout, he stills and turns around.  His sister cross her arms and sports a proud smirk at using her daughter to bait Alec.

 

“Dammit,” he mutters with a sigh, scoffing at the thought of him actually escaping a conversation about boys with Izzy.  His shoulders slouch in defeat as he and Copernicus begrudgingly join them near the floor the ceiling glass wall at the entrance.  Simon sets his daughter down so she and Copernicus can play while the adults talk.  She coos at him while he lets her ruffle his ears and jump all over him like the best friends that they are.

 

“Alec,” his sister begins and he rolls his eyes, “Simon has graciously informed me about you ogling a certain handsome man today.”  Simon give him a guilty look, his smile holding an apology, but Alec only sends him a quick glare before turning to his sister.

 

His first reaction is to deny it, but he just sighs and thinks, _Fuck it_.  He shrugs a shoulder.  “And?”

 

A look of surprise crosses Izzy’s face before she gives him a wicked smile and opens her mouth.  Alec knew he was about to get steamrolled with question after question, so he acts quickly and drops down to pick up Aurora who lets out a yelp in surprise, giggling as she grabs the collar of her uncle’s work shirt as he stands back up to face his sister.

 

“Isabelle,” he addresses her in formal retaliation, “think about what you want to say next and remember we are in the presence of a child.”  He emphasizes the word ‘child’ as he adjusts his hold on Aurora and gives her a sweet smile.  He looks back at his sister with a proud grin.  Two could play at this game.

 

“Fine, but this isn’t over,” she says defeatedly as she points a finger at him.

 

Simon chuckles and reaches for Aurora, but not before she gives Alec a kiss on the cheek and thanks him for all of the fun she had today.  Alec’s features turn soft and he squeezes her tightly, thanking her in return for the fun he had as well.  She holds out her arms for her dad to take her and waves goodbye to Copernicus.  Alec thinks he’s in the clear as the family starts to head out, but his sister turns back to him with a gentle smile.

 

“I’m proud of you, big brother.”

 

He rolls his eyes but knows he can’t help his lips quirking up.  He pulls her in with one arm and kisses her forehead before pushing her back toward her family.

 

Isabelle laughs and joins her daughter in waving goodbye at him.  Alec waves back until they disappear through the door.

 

He looks down at his companion, patiently sitting by his side.  “That could have gone worse.”  Copernicus releases a short bark to agree and starts trotting toward Alec’s office, knowing it was time to pack up and head home.  He chuckles and joins his pup in step, thankful to have a friend.

 

\---

 

The subway ride home wasn’t bad, but Alec believes wholeheartedly it’s because he had his companion with him, and nothing to do with the fact that he has a date with Magnus Bane.  Well, not a date, more of a proper apology.  Yeah, right, that’s all it was.  

 

While his heart was soaring at the idea of seeing Magnus again for coffee, his body was exhausted from a long day.  Hell, a long week of helping Jace and Clary move, helping Simon by making sure he doesn’t spontaneously combust from waiting to see the recent data from his exoplanet, and dealing with the return of his nightmares on top of all of that.

 

He unlocks the door to his now half empty apartment and drops his keys into the bowl on the table next to it, where there used to be three sets and now only one remained.  The ring of the keys landing in the bowl echos throughout the quiet apartment, emphasizing the loneliness Alec’s chest constricted against.  

 

Copernicus obediently stays by his side until he relieves him of his vest, then bolts excitedly to grab one of his favorite chew toys Max bought for him.  He trots to Alec’s room to lay on his favorite spot on their bed.  Yes, their bed, they’ve been sharing it every night for the past two and a half years and Alec wouldn't have it any other way.  Well, considering many thoughts he had earlier dealt with Magnus in his bed, maybe he would like it, possibly.  Alec’s stomach turned at the possibilities.

 

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.  He releases a breath of exhaustion as he removes his jacket and dismissively tosses it toward the couch.  He pauses on his way to the kitchen when he hears Copernicus bark from inside his bedroom.  He gallops towards him, his tail wagging excitedly as he nips at Alec’s fingers as if to follow him for some great news.  

 

He furrows his brow as he follows him into his room.  He halts in his doorway as he takes in the sight before him.

 

Leaning against his bed was a five foot by eight foot rectangular painting of a man wading through a river of galaxies.  Alec sucks in a sharp breath as his heart clenches.  The light, technique, colors...it had to be from Clary.  No one else would be able to capture an image of Alec’s soul as she has.  

 

He walks over to it slowly while Copernicus hops on the bed to retrieve something, but Alec is completely entranced by the piece so he pays no mind to it.  He squats down and reaches out to lightly run his fingertips over the paint, but the light cascading from his window catches on the canvas, letting him know that certain areas were still wet.  The thump of his dog hopping off of his bed and landing next to him breaks his trance as he looks over.  He’s holding a note in his mouth and gives Alec an expectant look.  Alec gently takes the note, recognizing Clary’s handwriting, and begins to read it as he strokes his dog, sitting patiently by his side.

 

_Alec,_

_We can’t thank you enough for taking us in during troubled times._

_I would have given you this sooner, but I finally finished it last night._

_Just because we are moving out doesn’t mean we won’t come visit, so you this better find a home for this before we visit._

 

Alec chuckles but his throat tightens as tears threaten to spill down his cheeks.

 

_I hope you like it.  Now stop brooding in your bedroom and go ask out that cute teacher Izzy told us about._

_Love, Clary and Jace (aka the greatest roommates ever)_

 

Alec rolls his eyes as he thinks back to locking himself in his room while Clary and Jace fought, turning up the television volume ridiculously loud when he heard moans, Jace sneaking Copernicus people food, their drunken game nights that ended with them all passed out on the living room floor.  But still, the tears were coming.  Clary’s gesture of leaving it here for him to solely stumble upon meant a lot, because she knew he would want to be alone when he saw this.

 

Copernicus nudges his snout against his hand holding the note, but Alec doesn’t budge, he’s too caught up in the sincerity.  Before he knows it, his dog pushes his head against Alec’s chest so he can fall back to properly sit on the floor.  Alec absently crosses his legs so Copernicus can comfortably settle in his lap, his head rests on Alec’s forearm in the crook of his elbow.  He releases a huff that summed up everything Alec felt.

 

Alec chuckles weakly through the tears he refuses to let fall.  “Yeah, me too buddy.”  He leans down to wrap him in his arms and kiss his velvety soft ear while he continues to pet him.  He glances at the painting again, his heart aching at the thought of Clary spending hours on this just for him.  They had a rough relationship in the beginning, but Alec secretly liked her for Jace, he just couldn’t show it because she was too much fun to tease.  After a few more minutes dedicated to sitting with his companion, he gently pushes Copernicus off, standing up with a new found energy to search for a hammer and nails.  

 

Copernicus lays on their bed and watches him as he hangs up the painting, positioned so that he can see it when he wakes up in the morning.  Alec takes a step back and tilts his head to the side to see if the angle was correct.

 

“You like it?” he asks as he places his hands on his hips.

 

Copernicus gives an enthusiastic bark in response and Alec chuckles.  “Yeah, me too.”  He hums in thought.  “Maybe i’ll stop calling her little girl.”

 

Copernicus gives a low groan in response.  Alec shrugs a shoulder as his eyebrows raise in consideration.  “You’re right, she is still technically little.  But I have to thank her for this,” he gestures toward the canvas.  His mind wanders off as he stares at the piece longer.  

 

He’s brought out of his thoughts by a paw stepping on his foot.  He looks down to see his dog standing between his legs, bright golden eyes staring up at Alec with a toy in his mouth, suggesting play time rather than overthink time.  

 

He gives a silent huff before asking softly, “What?” as if he was clueless.

 

Copernicus walks and turns to face him fully, jumping up to put his paws on Alec’s stomach, his tail wagging exhumed his excitement.  Alec can’t help but chuckle and grab at the toy.  His pup turns serious as he sits and waits for Alec to throw it.  He chucks it into the living room and Copernicus takes off.

 

“Let me get comfortable and we can play, I promise,” he says as his pup returns, only to nudge the toy impatiently at his feet.  He removes his work shirt and walks toward his dresser to change into comfier clothes.  

 

Alec takes full advantage of an empty home as he walks around in nothing but sweat pants.  He cooks himself a delicious pasta dinner, taking every other minute to throw his dog’s toy while also sneaking him treats as he patiently sits by his side.  After dinner, he settles down at the dining room table with his laptop and a folder of notes about exoplanets.  He planned on doing some research for Simon to help relieve some of his stress when his phone vibrates on the kitchen counter.  Alec furrows his brow, wondering who could be texting him at eleven at night.  He walks over to grab his phone and swipes to open a thread with an unknown number.

 

 ** _Imagine my surprise when I discovered  I was too distracted to ask you for your number.  You should really cover up those arms, Alexander,_** the message read.  

 

Alec bit his bottom lip to hold back the grin threatening to form and sat back down at the kitchen table, eyes locked on his phone.  His heart tugged with excitement, something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

 

This was going to be interesting.

 

He sends a quick reply to Magnus, chuckling at his abrupt response.  He ends his night in bed with his companion by his side and a grin plastered on his face, put there by a man he couldn’t wait to get to know.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a flirt! Oh Magnus...
> 
> Tune in next time for: Max! More Alec and Copernicus cuteness, shameless flirting, Cat ;) Relentless teasing from siblings, space facts and a date??? ohhhhhh! I'm excited! What's gonna happen?? Don't ask me cause i don't know...chapter three is outlined-ish, and with finals coming up next week i'll be very busy, and then SHADOWHUNTERS COMES BACK???? oh thank the lord!!! Chapter three will be up soon, it'll just take a little time!! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, comments and kudos fuel my cold dead heart and makes me want to write fluff <3
> 
> I hope this chapter made you smile, if you have other emotions you wish to evoke in all caps, then you can do that here or on my tumblr nanf1c 
> 
> Have a beautiful day beautiful people :)


	3. How Galaxies Collide part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec’s phone vibrates again and his heart doubles, but it settles as he sees a text from Max letting him know he was at their spot. Alec sighed and shook his head. Was Magnus already under his skin? Consuming his thoughts? He didn’t want to admit it, but yes…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost i want to deeply apologize for the wait on this chapter. Technically, this has been written for a few months, but it didn't feel complete to me, and i'm not going to share something that doesn't feel satisfying. This is one of my shorter chapters, sadly. Previously it was much longer, but this one was cut in half, with the next installment coming soon since it is already written, just needs a little more stuff to spice it up!! I know i promised a date for this chapter, but things change, and it will be coming i promise, just not today! I'm sorry! 
> 
> I feel so horrible for the long wait, but i wasn't in the right head space to write this story. Season 2b and malec murdered my poor heart but brought it back to life as well, it was a wild ride! I did write some stuff on the side inspired by the latest ten episodes, but now with hiatus, it's time to get back to this! Thank you so much for your patience with me, this story means a lot to me and i plan to add a lot more to it. Not sure how much, but i'm no where near done with it i promise! Okay rambling over, enjoy chapter three my lovely little readers <3

**_“Your hand touching mine, this is how galaxies collide.”_ **

 

* * *

 

 

Alec definitely didn’t spend the majority of his morning looking through the thread of messages between he and Magnus last night, nope.  And he didn’t do it with a stupid grin on his face the whole time.  He was about to take Copernicus out to meet Max the next morning when his phone vibrated again.

 

**Cold today, Alexander?  Maybe i can pour hot coffee all over you again.**

 

Alec’s grin widened as his cheeks burned.  He sat against the back of the couch, legs casually crossed as he typed out a reply.  Copernicus’ bark forces him to look up and see his dog holding his own leash in his mouth as he dances by the door.  

 

Alec chuckles.  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I’m coming,” he says as he stands up to pocket his phone, putting on his leather jacket over his green long sleeve.  “You ready to go see Max?” he asks.

 

Copernicus barks excitedly in response and wags his tail even more, bolting out the door as soon as Alec opens it.  He just laughs and follows him to the stairs.  They exit his apartment complex and make their way toward the park, a ten minute walk.  Alec grabs onto his leash, but he knows he doesn’t need to.  Copernicus knows to stay by his side and wouldn’t want to leave Alec anyway, but it makes strangers feel at ease to see an owner holding the leash, so he does.  

 

They take their time walking on the sidewalks and turn to take a back way to the park, where there are less humans.  Green filled his vision as he turned a corner leading to the park.  Spring was coming, and with it brought bright, beautiful colors and new life.  He breathed in a deep breath of fresh air as the newly born leaves danced in the whirling wind.  He shivers in the cool breeze and his mind instantly reels back to Magnus' suggestive text about keeping warm.  Safe to say his cheeks felt warm now as his stomach stirred in anticipation for their coffee...date?  Formal apology?  

 

Alec’s phone vibrates again and his heart doubles, but it settles as he sees a text from Max letting him know he was at their spot.  Alec sighed and shook his head.  Was Magnus already under his skin?  Consuming his thoughts?  He didn’t want to admit it, but yes…

 

Today was about him and Max though, so he tries to clear his head as they walked over to the bench, spotting his little brother.   

 

Copernicus notices him as well and releases a whine, looking up at Alec to ask if he could go to him.  Alec smiles and motions his arm toward Max as he lets go of his leash.  His dog takes off, barking excitedly and causing Max to laugh warmly as he jumps on him.  Alec tucks his hands into his pockets and smiles fondly down at the two as his little brother attempts to pet his dog, but Copernicus is jumping too excitedly to sit still.  

 

He reaches them and sits next to Max on the wooden bench, placing his arm around his shoulder to pull him into a side hug.  Max releases a huff of playful annoyance before smiling and hugging his big brother back.  Alec kisses his head of moppy hair before Max is pushing him away.

 

“Gross,” he exclaims with a grimace as he pretends to wipe it away.

 

Alec only huffs in laughter before ruffling his little brother’s hair.  “How was school this week?”

 

Max shrugs dismissively as he pats Copernicus’ head now resting on his knee, sitting patiently and loving the attention.  “It’s been fine so far.  Group projects will be the death of me though.”

 

Alec chuckles as he remembers being in college and forced to do group projects with people who couldn’t give a damn about the subject.  It always ended with Alec doing most of the work.  Thankfully, going into the field of astrophysics allowed more room for him to learn and breathe on his own.  Alec always worked better by himself, but being forced to work with Simon was one of the best things to happen to him and his family.  

 

He’s just about to ask how work has been at the Good Dog Foundation before Max cuts in.  “How were your tours yesterday?” his tone innocent but his smirk saying otherwise.

 

Alec huffs a breath and shakes his head slightly at his nosey siblings, but he plays along.  “It was good.  Aurora had a lot of fun I think and she made a new friend.”

 

Max hums in thought as he leans down to pick up a small stick.  He throws it across the path near a tall, beautiful tree and smiles as Copernicus chases after it.

 

“Anything else?” he asks, adjusting his position to sit more comfortable with the brace on his leg.

 

Alec gulps as he looks down at his little brother trying to find a better position to sit.  Guilt ate away in his chest and all the way through his core, just as it has been ever since the accident.  Alec would never forgive himself for not reacting quicker.  If he had, maybe Max would have more feeling in his leg and not have to walk around with a brace and a crutch.

 

He absently reaches up to scratch lightly at the scars on his chest.  Max notices and grabs his hand, gently pushing it down and Alec looks over startled.  Max tilts his head to the side and sighs, giving Alec a knowing look.  Alec knew that look and wanted to avoid the repeated conversations he’s had with his siblings on the subject, so he settles for watching Copernicus rushing back excitedly, stick in his mouth and ears flapping as he bounds towards them.  His lips quirk up and he settles his left arm on the bench behind Max, crossing one leg over the other.

 

Copernicus dances around their legs, tail wagging excitedly and begging for someone to throw the stick as he nudges it into their laps.  Alec rolls his eyes and plucks it from his dog’s mouth before throwing it to the same spot.  Sighing, he settles into his seat more, getting ready for what was to come from Max.  “I’m assuming Izzy told you.  She’s not one to restrain from gossip, especially when it’s finally about me,” he says, fondly watching his dog run around and roll in the leaves.

 

Max shrugs a shoulder.  “Told me what?” he asks, smirking up at his big brother.  

 

Alec rolls his eyes again and lets out a deep sigh, content with sitting in silence rather than discussing this - what even was this? - with his little brother.  But he loves Max, and they promised to be honest with each other.  He always wanted to hear about whatever was going on in his life, so he was trying to learn to be more open with his own life as well.

 

“If you must know, I’m getting coffee with him this afternoon,” he concedes.

 

“Oh shit.”

 

Alec looks over at his brother, startled by his response, furrowing his brow in confusion.

 

“Izzy told me you were working on a new secret project, she didn’t say anything about a guy!” Max’s face lit up as he sits up straighter, eyes widening in excitement.

 

Alec’s cheeks flamed as he looks away in embarrassment.  He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but closes it again.  “I-i...well...okay, look-” he stammers.

 

Max holds up his hand to stop him from further embarrassing himself.  “I’m just fucking with you, she told me about the teacher,” he winks as Alec whips his head to look at his brother astoundedly, mouth hanging open.  Max can’t help but throw his head back in laughter as Alec scoffs at him, removing his arm from behind him.  He crosses his arms over his chest and settles into his brooding stature.  

 

Max shoves his shoulder playfully.  “Come on dude, you know she can’t resist.”

 

Alec deadpans at him before decidedly looking back at his dog and ignoring Max.  Tension, already in his neck and shoulders from a stressful week, built more into his muscles as he tried to focus his attention on the cool breeze sweeping through the trees and rustling the leaves.  

 

He feels a hand on his shoulder before his little brother softly says, “Hey, Alec, sorry.  It’s just been a long time since you’ve gone out with anyone.  We just want to see you happy.”

 

Alec tenses up and uses his hand to emphasize his words.  “What makes you think that i’m not happy?  Why do I need someone to make me happy?  I’ve been on my own for ten years Max, i’m fine by myself.”  He sits back and instantly regrets the harsh tone he used, but it was said and done.  

 

His brow furrows at his abrupt response, not realizing how much he shut everyone out of his life ever since he left his parent’s place.  But he wasn’t alone, he had Simon, until he married Izzy and moved in with her.  He also had Jace and Clary, until they just moved out.  Alec sags his shoulders as harsh reality hits him again.  He was destined to be lonely, but that didn’t mean he needed to be an ass about it.

 

“Sorry Max,” he mutters ashamedly as he toes his boot into the smooth concrete pathway.  Out of the corner of his eye he sees his little brother shake his head slightly.

 

“Already forgiven, big brother.”  Alec looks over to see a soft smile on Max’s face, a smile he didn’t deserve.  Alec didn’t deserve the endless patience his siblings gave him.

 

Alec leans his elbows on his knees and licks his lips as he looks down, examining Max’s leg.  “You need to stretch out?” he asks, noticing Max getting slightly squirmier throughout their conversation.  

 

Max nods his head once and braces his hands on the bench to get up.  “Sounds good.  Oh, whoops- excuse me,” he mutters in a laugh as he pushes his hands against Alec’s face to stand up.  Alec swats his hand away, but only when he knows Max has full balance and releases a snort, unable to resist his little brother’s tactical ways of making Alec feel lighter.

 

He leans to grab Max’s crutch from the bench and hands it to him.  Max gives him a grateful smile before turning to walk down the path.  Alec looks back at Copernicus rolling in the leaves and whistles for him to follow.  He abruptly sits up to find Alec and bolts to catch up to them.  Alec chuckles and ruffles his head as he excitedly licks at his hand before running to catch up to Max.  

 

Alec’s heart flutters at the sight of the two of them walking together, Max limping slightly with every step and Copernicus steadily walking at his side.  His lips quirk up and he jogs to catch up to them.

 

\---

 

“Why are we outside again?”

 

“Darling, you could barely grade your student’s papers.  You need to get out of your loft and take your mind off of something other than green eyes.”

 

“Hazel,” he corrects his friend.  “And a tall, lean body,” Magnus says dreamily.  “I wonder what he looks like under those bleak clothes.”  Cat rolls her eyes at him and hooks her arm through his as they stroll through the park.

 

“Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find out.”

 

Magnus opens his mouth, no doubt to say something shameless, before Cat cuts him off.

 

“Enough about him, my dear, enjoy the outdoors,” she says as she waves her hand around the trees and grass surrounding them.  “Besides, he can’t be _that_ pretty.”  

 

Again, Magnus opens his mouth, brows set as he points a finger, willing to emphasize how beautiful this man was, and how he was even more beautiful because he didn’t seem to know it. But he’s cut off again as he hears a bark and turns to see a dog approaching them.

 

He sees a red therapy dog vest on the chocolate lab as he excitedly makes his way over.  Magnus cautiously  holds out his hand for him to sniff.  “Well, hello there,” he cooed as the dog sniffs his hand and deems him a good human.  Magnus smiles proudly as he and Catarina are allowed to touch him, his tail wagging excitedly as he licks at their fingers.

 

Magnus pats his head as he asks softly, “Where’s your owner, darling?” just as he hears a familiar voice shout, “Copernicus!”

 

His head shoots up and his heart flutters at the sight of Alec’s long legs strutting toward them, but keeping a pace slow enough for the person with him who had a brace on his leg, a slight limp in his step and a crutch in his grip.  Magnus is speechless as he stares at the man, who seems just to be as speechless as he stares at him and Cat.  He swears the light somehow shines brighter on Alec, accentuating his untamed hair, glowing hazel eyes and light scruff on his face more apparent than yesterday.  Cat jabs his ribs with her elbow, forcing him to blink out of his daze.   _Damn you, Cat._

 

“Magnus,” he says in surprise, eyes blown wide before composing himself.  Alec clears his throat, bright blush lighting his cheeks as he looks down at the dog.  “Sorry, he’s not one to run away like that,” he says as he grabs at the dog’s leash.  

 

“Alexander,” Magnus says in surprise as well.  “No worries at all, i’m sure he just came over to say hello,” he says with a playful voice directed at the dog.

 

“So, this is Alexander,” Cat chimes in as she eyes him up and down behind her sunglasses.  Magnus turns slightly to his friend, his smirk saying ‘See, I told you.’

 

Alec clears his throat and holds out his hand.  “Alec,” he says with a tight smile.

 

She graciously shakes his hand back as Magnus cuts in, “This is my dear friend, Catarina.  We were just enjoying a lovely stroll in the early morning, but apparently we weren’t the only ones.”  He tilts his head toward Max in expectancy.  

 

“O-oh, um, right,” Alec stutters as he places his hand on Max’s shoulder.  “This is my little brother, Max.  Max, this is-”

 

“The guy I have to thank for making my brother a blushing mess,” Max cuts in with a smug smile, holding his hand out to Magnus.  “Magnus, I presume?  I’ve heard a lot about you.” Magnus gives a short laugh as he shakes the boy’s hand.  Max peers up at his older brother with a shit eating grin and Magnus knew, right then and there, he was fond of this Lightwood as well.  Alec huffs and closes his eyes, appearing as if he needed a second to hold himself back from scolding his brother.  Still, his cheeks burned brighter, and Magnus couldn’t stop staring.

 

The sound of Cat’s ringtone blaring through her pocket brought him back to reality.  His friend curses as she brings the phone to her ear, giving them a finger indicating she’ll be just a minute as she walks away.

 

Magnus watches her walk off to the bright green grass kissing the edges of the pavement under their feet.  The sun was shining, but there was still the lingering breeze of winter coming to an end in the brisk air.  A nudge against his knee causes him to turn back and look down, facing the cute chocolate face of a dog that was staring up at him, mustering up the power of puppy eyes to get Magnus to pet him again.  

 

Magnus smiles in amusement but the dog’s leash is tugged back a little, followed by a soft voice saying, “Copernicus, come on.  Leave him alone.  I’m sorry, he’s not usually this forward.”

 

Magnus locks onto hazel eyes again and releases a small huff.  “It’s quite alright, darling.  Really, I don’t mind.”  If he wasn’t mistaken, he might have seen Alec’s blush even more at the term of endearment.  And the joy Magnus felt from it was insatiable as his heart fluttered at the poor man looking down, refusing eye contact.  Oh, this was going to be fun.  Magnus takes a beat to look at the younger brother’s leg again, then back down to the dog’s vest.  “Is he yours?” he asks softly as he kneels down, now face to face with the pup so he can pet him easier.

 

There’s a moment of hesitation before he hears, “Y-yes, he’s mine,” from Max.  the uncertainty of his voice causes Magnus to look up and see the two brothers staring at each other, clearly having a silent conversation.  Tension filled the air, but he continues to ruffle Copernicus’ soft ears.

 

Before Magnus could ask any more, Cat returns from her phone call looking distressed.  “I’m sorry, that was work.  There’s been an emergency, I need to head back to the hospital.”

 

Magnus nods and moves to stand up, holding his hand out to Max.  “Pleasure to meet you, Max,” he says while shaking his hand firmly.  He looks down at the dog sitting patiently at his feet.  “It was lovely meeting you, darling,” he cooed before looking back up where his eyes desired to be.  He held his hand out to shake.  “Alexander,” he says as he grabs his hand firmly, Alec’s eyes never straying from his as that familiar spark ignited as soon as they touched, just like yesterday.  They say their goodbyes to Cat as well before she starts heading back towards her car.

 

Magnus turns to follow her, but begins to walk a few steps backwards while facing Alec and his brother.  “Keep that,” he said indicating towards Alec’s five o’clock shadow.  “I like it, it suits you,” he says smoothly, only finally turning around to catch up to his friend with a smirk on his face once he’s seen Alec stutter and blush, his brother roaring in laughter and patting Alec on the shoulder.  “I like this guy,” he hears Max say as he turns around.  Magnus’ smirk only grows.

 

_Me too, Lightwood._

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next time for: Alec and Aurora sweetness, Izzy dealing with a stubborn brother, the flirty idiots talk, dinner, a date???? Who knows, i said that last chapter and we all know what happened with that. Really though, there will be a date i swear! If not, you can call me on my bullshit on my tumblr: nanf1c
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, it really means the world to me and i can't wait for you to read what i have in store for these two idiots!


	4. How Galaxies Collide part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Copernicus already loves him and so do I and Izzy so really what more do you-”
> 
> He shrivels up a napkin and throws it at Max’s face who only laughs in response. He ducks his head down to hide his burning cheeks and slow his rapidly beating heart as he mutters, “Shut up,” and finishes his food, hating that everything Max said was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been written for a while and thankfully i have amazing betas to convince me to get off my ass and post it (even though i am indeed on my ass right now). This was intended to be longer, but it was going to take me 5ever to finish it, so i wanted to give you a piece of it, which means the other chapter is already outlined :) 
> 
> Enjoy my lovelies!

After the shock of Magnus’ final words to him in the park, Alec turns to his brother and releases a huff of annoyance.

 

Max was still staring at Magnus as he struts away, a shit eating grin on his face and his hands proudly placed on his hips, no doubt pleased with himself.  He takes a look up at Alec quickly then back to Magnus, then does a double take back as he sees his brother’s disapproving look.

 

“What?” he asks innocently.

 

Alec tilts his chin down, his eyes saying, ‘really?’ before looking down at his dog and mutters, “Come on, boy,” and turns to walk away.  

 

Max stares at him with his mouth hanging open.  Alec gets a good distance away before turning to look over his shoulder with a smirk.  “More pancakes and french toast for Copernicus if you don’t hurry your butt up.”

 

Copernicus barks in agreement, ushering Max to hurry.  He chuckles and limps over to join them.  Alec throws his arm over his little brother’s shoulder, his other hand holding onto the link to his companion.  They walked out of the park like this and to a corner diner to enjoy breakfast together.

 

Alec’s phone vibrates in his pocket as they cross the street to the diner, he releases Max from his grip around his shoulder and digs in his pocket for it, not knowing what to expect.

 

The text from his sister read,  **Dinner at our place tonight please.**

 

It wasn’t even an invite, it was an ambush to see how his “date” with Magnus would go, and Alec wasn’t falling for it.  He let out a deep sigh as he contemplated a way to get out of it.

 

Walking on the sidewalk and approaching the diner, Max peeks his head over to see Izzy’s text and releases a snort.  “You had to see that one coming.”

 

Alec nods and releases another sigh as he pockets his phone and holds the door for Max, Copernicus obediently at his side as they let him through first.  “I should have anticipated it, but you know i’m not used to having interesting things going on in my life.”  He waves to the older gentleman behind the counter and points at a booth.  The owner nods and gives them a soft smile before most likely murmuring their regular order in a waitresses ear.

 

“Nothing interesting going on?  Are you serious?” Max says incredulously before sliding into the booth by the window and setting his cane next to him.  “You mean working on the Mars Rover and conducting experiments to study and better understand space and time itself and collect data from distant planets while simultaneously working on the new James Webb space telescope that will replace the Hubble next year and evidently, due to new technology, it will take pictures that can capture the vastness of space ten times better than the Hubble ever could isn’t interesting?” he says it all in one breath and raises his eyebrows at his older brother.

 

Alec rolls his eyes as he settles in his seat.  “I don’t do that stuff anymore, Max,” he mutters softly as he looks down the make sure Copernicus is comfortable with his new position lying in between their feet.  His legs and tail on Alec’s boots while his head rests comfortably on Max’s vans.  “And I just meant personal life interesting, not career interesting,” he says as he fiddles with a straw wrapper.

 

“Okay, well because of your interesting career you couldn’t really have an exciting personal life outside of work,” Max informs him as he takes a sip from the ice cold water placed in front of them by the waitress.

 

Alec’s mind flashed back to the one night stands he had over the years he worked at NASA.  Some of them wanted more, but Alec just couldn’t give himself to someone like that.  He was wholly dedicated to his work and his family, he didn’t need anything else at the time.  But now…

 

“That’s definitely what I told myself,” he mutters before the waitress comes back and settles their food between them and sends a soft smile before walking to another table.

 

“Well, what are you telling yourself now?” Max asked through his already mouthful of pancakes and Alec chuckled. 

 

He shrugs his shoulders as he pours syrup all over his french toast.  “Look, if you’re asking where I think this is going with Magnus, I’ll tell you right now I have no clue nor do I expect anything to come from getting coffee today,” he tries to convice him as he takes a bite of his food.

 

He looks up to see Max deadpan at him.  “You serious?  Have you  _ seen _ the guy?  Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

 

Alec rolls his eyes again as he takes a sip of his drink.  “Yes, I have seen him.  I’m not blind,” he allows himself to admit that and only that.  He takes a bite of his food again and stares out the window at the pedestrians walking by, knowing if Max saw his face he could read him like an open book.

 

Max was oddly silent, analyzing everything Alec did and didn’t say within that response and came to a conclusion quicker than he thought.

 

“You think he doesn’t like you?” he murmurs softly.

 

Alec sighs and turns to look at his little brother’s open and loving face.

 

“No, Max.  I just don’t think anything will happen and that’s fine-”

 

“If you meet up with him with this attitude then no, nothing will happen if you close him off,” Max abruptly cuts him off and Alec shuts his mouth, stunned at his brother’s response.

 

“Come on, Alec,” he says and Alec clenches his jaw, “you have to open up sometime.”

 

Avoiding another snap at his brother, he took a deep breath and met Max’s eyes straight on.  After a few seconds to calm down, he concedes and nods his head once before going back to his food.  Max was right, he just didn’t want to admit it.  Growing up with his parents constantly arguing, he really couldn’t handle the feeling of bickering with a loved one.  He’s learned his lessons with his fights with his parents, but he knows better than to continue that behavior with his siblings.  It accomplished nothing and only made him feel like shit afterwards.  He’d rather bite his tongue and take their advice than argue back, unless they were being unreasonable little siblings.  

 

“I know I don’t have to tell you this but, just...keep an open mind,” Max mutters and his words were laced with nothing but care.  Alec couldn't help but smirk at his brother’s worries.  They were alike in so many ways.

 

“I’ll try my best,” he answers before taking a sip of his water.

 

“Then, you can thank me when you realize Magnus is the man of your dreams and he takes you to do a no pants dance,” he says informally as he continues to eat his pancakes.

 

Alec chokes on his water and starts to couch, patting his chest to breath.

 

“Then you’ll realize he’s the only man you want to get laid by for the rest of your life and you guys can make love under the stars-”

 

“Max!” he interrupts through his coughing.  Max only smirks through a mouthful of breakfast and Alec glares at him through his burning cheeks before they both return to their food.

 

“Then you’ll get married and have babies and all will be right in the world.”

 

Alec puts down his silverware and crosses his arm to glare longer at his brother, who only shrugs and continues to eat.

 

“Copernicus already loves him and so do I and Izzy so really what more do you-”

 

He shrivels up a napkin and throws it at Max’s face who only laughs in response.  He ducks his head down to hide his burning cheeks and slow his rapidly beating heart as he mutters, “Shut up,” and finishes his food, hating that everything Max said was true.

 

\--- 

 

Magnus would have moved with ease since having been to this household a few times for dinners, but being in the kitchen with a certain someone was a little...jarring.  Safe to say his hesitations and precautions were simply needed when faced with such a demise.

 

“Isabelle, my dear, are you sure you don’t need help?” 

 

Izzy stands up from her crouch as she questionably peaked in the oven, whipping her hair out of her face and releasing a puff to get rid of the strands stuck on her ruby red lipstick.  Magnus pictured all of the hair he was going to find on his plate and grimaced.  “Yeah,” she tries to convince herself, “I got this.”  She sends him a bashful grin and turns to the kitchen island to chop the rest of the vegetables.  

 

Magnus quirks his brow at her, not believing that this woman knew what she was doing.  “If you say so,” he mutters and places his hands on the granite counter opposite of her, playing with the rings on his fingers.  He decides to make better use of his hands and grabs the stem of his wine glass, bringing it to his lips to taste the sweet sourness he so craved after the day he had.

 

“So how was your date with my brother?”

 

Magnus chokes on his drink and pats his chest to swallow the rest rather than spit it in his friend's face.  He brings a hand up to cover his mouth as he coughs into it, all the while Izzy stares at him with her brows raised in expectation.  

 

He turns to look out their kitchen window over Izzy’s head as his mind reels through his ‘date’ with Alec.

 

_ “Look, uh, i-i should...go” Alec gestures his hand over his shoulder to the door and Magnus’ heart sank.  He thought it was going rather well, or at least, it was at first.  Alec’s hello was shy but he soon settled in comfortably across from Magnus as they talked and drank coffee.  They made jokes and conversed about a few of Magnus’ favorite students that stood out to Alec during the tour.  Magnus was having an amazing time, but, apparently the feeling wasn’t mutual as Alec started to close himself off before turning to leave. _

 

_ “Sorry about the spilt coffee again,” he murmurs as he rubs a hand down the back of his neck. _

 

_ Magnus can only stare dumbfoundedly at his abrupt change in attitude.  He closes his mouth and sets his jaw, his back straighter and head held high as he holds out his hand.   _

 

_ In one last attempt to make Alec smile and reconsider staying, he says, “No need to be sorry darling, it was hot,” and adds a wink.   _

 

_ He can’t believe he just said that.  Are you serious, Bane?  What were you thinking?  Real smooth.  He looks down at the ground and clenches his eyes shut in embarrassment.   _

 

_ He’s shocked to feel a warm big hand grabbing his gently and shaking it.  His head shoots up to lock onto soft eyes.  The smile tugging at Alec’s lips and the slight huff of laughter makes his knowledge of flirting worth it though.  He smiles back gently, Alec’s eyes reflected the serenity of one last look, his eyes dancing around memorizing Magnus’ face before gently muttering, “Goodbye, Mr. Bane.” _

 

“Who says it was a date?” he replies with a slight flourish of his fingers as he goes to take another drink now that he can breathe.  

 

Izzy deadpans at him before resuming her task.  “I swear I have to pull stuff out of you and my brother both,” she emphasizes each word with a slice of the vegetables.  “The idiot won’t say anything either.  He just keeps telling me to mind my own business,” she says offendedly as she uses the hand holding the knife to wave around, as if she couldn’t imagine why he would ever say such a thing.

 

Magnus flinches back from the knife, in fear for his life.  He reminds himself next time not to offer to help in the kitchen with this woman.  

 

He’s grateful as soon as he hears the front door open, but his chest constricts at the familiar cry of Aurora throwing a fit.  He peaks his head out of the kitchen to look at the entryway.  Simon held Aurora in his arms with a grocery bag dangling from his finger tips as he struggled to close the door.  Magnus rushes over to help him.

 

“Thanks, Magnus,” he huffs exhaustedly.  Aurora’s cheeks were red with the stain of tears and frustration building on her face.  

 

Magnus nods at him with a gentle smile to Aurora as he takes the food from him so he can deal with his daughter.  “What’s this?” he asks as he opens the bag.

 

“My mother heard Izzy was cooking tonight so she graciously offered some leftovers,” he mutters for only Magnus to hear as he adjusts his hold on Aurora.  She kicks her feet and releases a pathetic whine to be let down.  Simon sighs and sets her down, letting her run to her mom.

 

“Is she okay?” Magnus asks as he watches her flee.

 

“She’s in one of her moods and anything I try to do only makes it worse,” he says as he runs a hand through his hair and down his features.

 

Magnus pats him on the shoulder and gives him a small smile.  “Well, thankfully I brought the alcohol,” he says.  They both chuckle and join Izzy in the kitchen.

 

“No, you can’t play right now.  I need you to go wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon,” Izzy scolds her daughter, but her words weren’t harsh, more laced in exhaustion.  

 

“But momma,” Aurora whimpers pathetically as tears brim her eyes, holding on to Izzy’s shirt desperately.

 

“No, go wash your hands,” Izzy finalizes, continuing to cut the vegetables and suspiciously eyes the food in her husband’s hand, who gives her a sheepish smile in return.

 

Aurora isn’t having it though, she releases a cry and runs out of the kitchen just as the front door opens again.  

 

“Hey,” Magnus hears that soft voice for the third time that day and his heart begins to pump faster.  As Simon sets the food on the counter to unpack, Magnus tilts his head to see Alec crouched in front of Aurora near the entrance, talking to her quietly as she cries and nervously pulls at her hair.  Alec gently picks her up and heads toward the sliding glass door leading to their back patio, attention focused strictly on his goddaughter.  He cradles her in his arms as she clings to his collar, her face digging into his neck with tears running down her face as he closes the door, shutting them off from the world inside.  

 

His brows furrow in confusion but his eyes softened at the sight.  He turns back to the couple in the kitchen, opening his mouth to change the subject, but is at a loss for words, something that doesn’t happen very often.

 

Izzy notices his hesitation and releases a deep sigh as she begins to set out plates on the table, handing a few to Magnus.  “Rory gets frustrated really easily when things don’t go her way.  She started pulling at her hair when she was a baby, she had a bald spot for a long time.  It’s hard to calm her down, but Alec usually knows how to get her to stop thinking.”

 

Magnus releases a soft hum in consideration as he helps her set the table.  He’s had to calm Aurora down in class before or console her when she cries, but it hadn’t been anything as serious as this.  

 

“I wasn’t aware that Alec would be joining us for dinner,” he says cautiously as he sets down plates and silverware.  

 

When he didn’t hear an answer from Izzy, he looks up just in time to see her send a smirk his way.  He squints his eyes suspiciously at her.   _ What was this woman planning?   _

 

As Isabelle heads back to the kitchen, he discreetly looks over his shoulder and out the window.  His heart clenched at the sight of Alec swaying slowly, Aurora cradled in his arms as he points to the night sky.

 

\--

 

Alec had tried to refuse dinner, but once he received another text saying  **Pweassseee uncle Alec** followed by a picture of Aurora with her bottom lip poking out in a sad frown and holding her hands together with a pleading look, he had no choice but to give in.  Damn his sister and her cute daughter.  

 

As soon as Alec opened the door to the Lightwood-Lewis household and began to remove his leather jacket, he was hit with the haunting aroma of Izzy’s cooking.  He’s opens his mouth to ask who let her in the kitchen, but he was cut off with a cry from his niece.  She goes to run into the living room, most likely to throw herself on the couch in a huff, passing him as she cries and Alec gently grabs her arm and crouches down.

 

“Hey,” he mutters softly to get her attention, recognizing the look of frustration on her face.

 

She turns to him and releases another cry before she flings her arms around his neck.  “Uncle Alec,” she says weakly, cries muffled by his shoulder and Alec’s heart breaks.

 

“Hey hey, what’s wrong?” he asks her gently as he strokes her hair.

 

All he can decipher from her muffled crying was “Daddy didn’t let me..” and “Momma is being mean..” 

 

He sighs and rubs her back as she cries.  He leans back and tilts his head to look at her face.  Her cheeks and eyes were red from tears.  She keeps one hand on his shoulder while the other grabs at the hair at the nape of her neck.  Izzy and Simon spent a long time trying to get her out of the habit of pulling her hair, and Alec was determined to keep it that way.

 

“No no, come on,” he grabs her hand and places it on the back of his head instead and stands to lift her into his arms.  Her tiny fist clenches in his hair and shirt as he walks them to the back patio.  She digs her face into his neck as tears continue to stream down her face, her legs clenched around his ribs.  

Alec gently closes the sliding glass door and turns around to face the night sky, wrapping his arms around her tightly.  He walks past the pool to the edge of their fence and stops, staring up at the stars.  He continues to rub her back, her ragged breaths soon start to calm with his warm presence surrounding her.  He gently sways his hips side to side, feeling the tears on his neck start to dry.  There’s a slight chill in the air as Alec digs his nose into her hair, kissing her shoulder softly as he continues his ministrations.  

 

“Tell me about the bear,” he murmurs into her hair.

 

She sniffs and wipes at her nose as she leans back to look at him, her brown eyes rimmed red from her tears.  “You already know that one,” she tells him as she places her hands on his shoulders, her voice hoarse.

 

“Nuh uh,” he retorts playfully before bringing his hand up to gently push away the curly strands of hair falling in her face.  He tucks them behind her ear, his fingers never stop touching her though as he softly brushes his knuckles across her cheek to wipe away a few of the remaining tears.  

 

She ponders for a moment before giving in to his sweet smile and turns to look at the sky, wrapping an arm around his neck to keep balance in his arms.  She sniffs again and asks, “Where is it?”

 

Alec grins at her before pointing at a group of stars making up a constellation.  “Right there,” he mutters softly.  She brings herself cheek to cheek with him so she can see exactly where he’s pointing.  “Oh I see it!  Okay so…”  

 

She goes off rambling about the story of the bear constellation and how it came to be.  The constellation she is referring to is called Ursa Major, or The Great Bear.  The real version of the story is not one to be told to little kids, so she made up a happy story herself, and Alec loved hearing it.  His heart flutters remembering their space conversations they have whenever they are together, and how they always manage to calm not only her, but Alec as well. 

 

She turns to look at him as her story continues while he listens intently.  She absently reaches out to touch the scar on his brow and Alec stops swaying as his heart drops, remembering how he acquired that scar as fragments of the accident flash in his mind.  She touches it for just another second, notices the look on his face and pulls back to take a beat.

 

“And that’s how the bear got in the sky,” she finalizes, her voice turning soft and flowing in the breeze.  

 

Alec’s heart was racing as his mind reeled through the accident again, but the innocence on her face made everything okay, so he gives her a genuine smile and brings them nose to nose playfully.  “Is that all, princess?” he asks softly.  

 

She giggles and wraps her arms around his neck as he brings his lips to her cheek and blows hard enough to make funny noises.  Alec’s heart soars with every squeal from her mouth and he starts to sway again. He adjusts his hold on her so he can wrap a part of his jacket around her as the wind picks up.

 

“You ready to go inside, little star?”

 

“I’m not a little star, i’m a supernova!” she practically shouts and Alec cringes as his ears ring.  

 

But he tuts and shakes his head.  “You are little, sorry to break it to you, kid.”

 

“Nu uh!” she says and starts to use her arms and legs to climb higher on him.  He just laughs and helps her to sit on his shoulders.  Her hands hold onto his head as they both giggle and start to head back inside.  

 

He bends down so they can both fit through the door.  As he looks up, his breath catches in his throat as he’s met with Magnus’ beautiful enticing eyes for the third time that day.

 

His mind flashes back to just a few hours ago.

 

_ Alec had to stop himself from looking up every time the bell rang when someone opened the door to the coffee shop.  He took a calming breath before grabbing his steaming cup of coffee and took a sip.  The bell rang again and he paid no attention to it. _

 

_ “Alexander?” he hears murmured into his ear with a soft voice and his heart races, a hand is placed on his shoulder. _

 

_ He turns in his seat and looks up to see the most inviting smile accompanied by glowing and soft eyes. _

 

“Mr. Bane!” Aurora shouts as she sees him helping set up the table and Alec freezes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave any thoughts or random shouting, it's always appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this and staying with it, it makes me so happy to be able to post a story that's well loved and appreciated by amazing readers. 
> 
> Tune in next time for: Dinner and talking and cuteness :) (cuteness is implied for every chapter and that will not change)
> 
> Feel free to message me on my tumblr nanf1c :)


	5. Looking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec squints his eyes in suspicion at her as she walks away. What was she up to? He looks up at Simon as he passes by him in the kitchen holding dishes for the table. His eyes begged, but Simon’s fear of his wife’s wrath was too powerful, so he only shrugs with an apologetic look before heading to his seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHat?? A new chapter?? I got my shit together and wrote another chapter?? Miracles happen people! 
> 
> ALSO we got a malec trailer today! On valentines day! A day of love! I'm so excited for season 3 ahhhh!
> 
> Thank you for waiting so patiently!
> 
> I am, once again, in a new semester so who knows when the next update will be, but i've been on a writing kick lately so hopefully you won't have to wait too long next time! Apologies for the wait, thank you for staying with this story though :)
> 
> Enjoy, my little lovely readers! <3

“Alec, I hope you don’t mind that I invited Magnus over,” his sister chimed in, seeing as the two men were both frozen in place, too stunned to formulate words.  Alec is the first to break eye contact to give the same shocked face to his sister.

 

He realizes his mouth is still slightly agape and shuts it quickly.  Shaking his head, he drops his eyes.  He reached up to grab Aurora and crouched down to let her stand on her own.  She runs over and gives Magnus an enthusiastic hug around his waist and Alec is instantly reminded of earlier at the park.  His conversation with Max had distracted him from keeping his eye on Copernicus, and before he knew it, his dog was bolting down the path and out of sight.  Alec   kept his panic at bay, but his legs picked up the pace from Max’s limp so he could find his companion.  

 

Two things he loved and cherished left him to go and greet Magnus with warmth and enthusiasm, and he didn’t know what to think of this.

 

Magnus laughed lightly as he pat Aurora’s back.  “Hello, sweet pea.  Feeling better?”

 

“Uh hu!” she said as she lets go to sit at the table.  

 

Alec makes himself useful and walks to the kitchen island to grab the food for dinner.  Passing his sister, he mutters, “You didn’t tell me Magnus was coming.”

 

She only swipes at the delicious salsa she made in the bowl Alec carried, licks her finger and pops it off with a smirk his way as she walks back to the kitchen table.  Alec squints his eyes in suspicion at her as she walks away.   _ What was she up to?  _  He looks up at Simon as he passes by him in the kitchen holding dishes for the table.  His eyes begged, but Simon’s fear of his wife’s wrath was too powerful, so he only shrugs with an apologetic look before heading to his seat.

 

Alec goes to sit at his usual spot next to his niece, but finds his chair already occupied.  

 

_ His heart beats rapidly as he reaches the door to the coffee shop Magnus told him to meet him at.  He takes a deep breath before opening the door, the chilling breeze lost and forgotten as he enters the warmth.  Warm colors swirled around, the delicious scent of coffees, teas and baked goods that were being served filled his nostrils with delight.   _

 

_ He spots Jocelyn standing at a table of customers in the corner.  His lips tip up in the corner and sends her a short wave as she gives him a big smile before turning back to her customers. _

 

_ Standing in line, he had no idea what to get.  Does he buy Magnus coffee?  Does he order coffee and wait?  What if Magnus takes a while or doesn’t show, then his coffee would get cold- _

 

_ He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.  Don’t overthink it, just order something, i’m sure he will be here soon.  Yeah, right, okay good plan. _

 

_ As the line moved closer to the register, Alec couldn’t reel in his thoughts of doubt.  This was a mistake, who would want to go on a date with him?  Was this even a date? _

 

_ The line moved and he was next.  His thoughts drifted to his scars.  Insecurity flared in his chest and his hands shook.  He could do this. _

 

_ With a deep, calming breath, he orders his coffee, finds a table for two by the window, and waits. _

 

He goes to sit on the opposite side of Aurora when his niece stops him.  “No, uncle Alec!  Sit there,” she said demandingly as she pointed at the seat across from her and Magnus.

 

Alec looks up surprisingly at his sister to her daughters demanding voice, but being the rotten sibling she is, she only gives him a smirk and shrugs her shoulders before taking a bite of dinner.  Alec huffs and has to try his best to keep his smile at bay, wondering where Aurora could have possibly gotten these demanding traits from. 

 

“So, Magnus,” Izzy began and Alec tries to contain an eye roll as he takes his seat.  “How did you become a teacher?”

 

Magnus looks up at Izzy with a quirked brow.  “I thought I already told you that.”

 

“Oh, uh,” his sister tries to save herself and Alec has to hold back from rolling his eyes again.  “It’s just such a nice story and I don’t think everyone here has heard it.”  She eyes Alec for a second before returning to filling up her tacos with her ‘homemade recipe’ that sometimes sent chills down Alec’s spine if he put too much in his mouth.

 

He was about to chime in that he heard this story when they went out to coffee earlier, but Aurora interrupted.  “I wanna hear!”

 

Magnus chuckled lightly at his little student just big enough to see over the table as she ate, and Alec couldn’t help but stare at the smile that overcame his face.  His cheeks lifted and made his eyes a little smaller, his teeth shining as they laid out a stunning smile.  His makeup was light, just eyeliner rimmed his eyes and made them pop out even more as the light from the dining room glinted in them.  The warm laughter that filled Alec’s ears sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach.  This man was....beautiful.  Alec had already come to that conclusion the first minute he met him, but the more time he spent with him, the less he wanted to run away like he usually did.  Magnus was so out of his league.

 

“Her highness demands it,” Simon chimed in through a mouthful of food with a thumbs up to his wife as he ate more, but she only squinted her eyes at him as she knew he was just being a good husband eating her food, and Alec’s lips curved at the couple before turning back to Magnus to hear the story again.

 

“Well of course, my dear,” he said warmly and began his story.

 

_ Alec had to stop himself from gazing into Magnus’ eyes and settled on watching his elegant fingers twirl his rings around his fingers, was he nervous?  Alec wanted to laugh at the thought that Magnus could be nervous on a date with him.  He was a man who looked like he knew what he wanted and wouldn’t rest until he got it, a man comfortable in his own skin who wasn’t afraid to show people who he was.  But the more he twisted his rings, the more Alec thought that there was a side to this man that not a lot of people got to know, one who, like everyone, could be nervous on a first date.  But this wasn’t a date, he reminded himself.  He’s just making up for spilled coffee, yeah, totally. _

 

_ Alec cleared his throat and looked down at the half empty mug in his hands, now lukewarm as time escaped them in their afternoon together.   _

 

_ “So uh, how long have you been a teacher?” he licked his lips and locked gazes with Magnus.  He didn’t need to keep the conversation going, they were doing well for two people who didn’t know much about each other.  Talking to Magnus was...easy. _

 

_ He saw Magnus’ gaze drop down to his lips before jumping back up to his eyes and his heart fluttered.  Magnus waved his hand in front of him.  “Oh, eight or so years,” he said nonchalant and Alec widened his eyes a little at his dismissive tone. _

 

_ “Wow.  Did you know you always wanted to be a teacher?” _

 

_ Magnus glanced up and turned his lips down in thought.  “I guess there has always been this side of me that really loves helping people.  Kids can be tough to teach, but by the end of the day…” he carried off as a soft smile turned his lips and Alec couldn’t help but stare.  “I love my kids and it’s amazing seeing the impact I have on them.  I mean-” _

 

_ “-they’re so young and it’s a crucial point in their lives to learn.” _

 

_ Magnus’ eyes lit up as they locked on him and released a smile.  “Exactly,” he said softly and Alec felt the blush creeping on his cheeks.  He bit his bottom lip to stop his grin and looked down as his coffee to hide his face. _

 

_ “Yeah, I totally get it,” he said as his fingertips glided over the rim of his mug, his thoughts telling him that he and Magnus shared a love of teaching kids and trying to stop his heart from pumping any faster than it was.  He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.  “So how did you become a teacher?” he glanced back up as he thought most of his blush should have been gone by now. _

 

_ Magnus hesitated with his mouth open, glancing down at his fingers before making up his mind.  “I’ve always loved kids,” he started, “but I didn’t see myself becoming a teacher, not until I had some help from some friends.”  He cleared his throat and continued.  “I wasn’t in a good place when I was in college.  I was working two jobs and living with my ex at the time who cheated on me and broke my heart.  That wasn’t enough for her though so she kicked me out the night I found out.  Luckily, I had a good friend who took me in, no questions asked.  She had a five year old daughter who hated learning and didn’t socialize well with the other kids at her school.  So in between my studies and my work, I helped her out whenever I could by making up games to make learning fun for her.  In the end, I think she taught me more than I taught her,” he said softly, smiling slightly as he stared at his coffee.  He cleared his throat and looked back up to meet Alec’s eyes.  “So with the help of those two wonderful women, I finished school and went back to become a teacher,” he finished with a drink of his coffee, his eyes never leaving Alec’s and leaving him in a trance. _

 

_ “Wow,” Alec managed to get out.  “They sound like great friends.” _

 

_ “They are,” Magnus’ smile was genuine and lit up his entire face as he talked about them.  “She’s in highschool now and manages to get all A’s while writing for the school newspaper and leading the debate team.  She is well on her way to go to school to be a doctor, just like her mom.” _

 

_ Alec squinted his eyes slightly.  “Wait, I met her, your doctor friend.”  Magnus smiled and opened his mouth to reply but Alec beat him to it.  “Catarina, right?” _

 

_ Magnus closed his mouth as his eyes widened slightly in shock.  “Yes,” he said in a tone of disbelief that Alec would pay that much attention to him before his smile returned.  “Yeah, she’s a wonderful woman.  Her and her daughter got me back on my feet and I am forever grateful for that,” he ended softly, fingers gliding slowly over the rim of his cup and catching Alec’s eye. _

 

“So thanks to a little girl like you,” Magnus said as he bopped Aurora’s nose lightly, causing her to giggle, “I became a teacher.”

 

\---

 

By the end of the night, Alec couldn’t keep himself from glancing at Magnus.  This man was charming and genuine, something Alec didn’t see when he first met him.  There was so much more to him and he wanted to learn it all.  He wanted to try this again, properly, confidently.  Well, as confident as he could be.  

 

Alec shifted in his seat on the couch to better situate his passed out niece in his lap, her head laying against his chest as her arms slipped down from his shoulders and fell to her sides.  She was exhausted since they allowed her to stay up past her bedtime, she insisted since uncle Alec  _ and _ Magnus were there.  Alec turned his head slightly to peek down at her face.  Her eyes opened slightly before her lids drooped and the power of sleep overcame her.  He smiled down at her smushed face against his chest and kissed the top of her ebony hair. 

 

“We should probably put her to bed so you guys can make your escape,” Simon muttered from across the living room as he watched his daughter.  

 

Magnus cleared his throat and stood elegantly from his chair and Alec really didn’t know how he did everything with such a tinashe and flare.  His eyes followed as Magnus entered the kitchen to help Izzy clean up dinner.  He hears something that vaguely sounded like a laugh trying to be covered up by a cough and turned to look at Simon who was now sporting a shit eating grin.  His cheeks burned as he was caught ogling.  Alec took it as his cue to take Aurora to bed, but he gives Simon a questioning look, asking if he wanted to.  

 

Simon shook his head.  “I would, but she doesn’t like me since I won’t let her watch adult swim.”

 

Alec chuckles and nods in understanding.  He tightens his hold on her as he stands up and makes his way to the hallway leading to her bedroom.  If he wasn’t mistaken, he might have felt Magnus’ gaze on him as he passed by the kitchen, but he refused to make eye contact and get caught staring at him, again.

 

He quietly opens her door and makes his way to her twin size bed.  The glowing stars on the ceiling provided enough light for him to navigate through the stuffed animals on the floor.  He gently lays her on top of her covers so he could change her.

 

“Princess,” he whispers gently to try and wake her for a second.  “I have to put you in your pjs.”

 

She stirs and points to where her pajamas were.  He chuckles and grabs them from her dresser.  She sits up groggily and rubs at her eyes as Alec helps her undress.  She stands on the bed and holds onto his shoulders as he puts her sleep pants on.  When he finishes that and moves to put her shirt over her head, she leans against his chest and falls asleep again.  He smiles and gently places her shirt over her head and puts her arms through the holes.  He picked her up and moved the sheets to tuck her in. 

 

He leaned down to kiss her forehead when she lightly grabs the neckline of his shirt in her sleepy state.  “Uncle Alec,” she muttered softly.

 

“Yes, my little moon?” he said as he ran his hand through her curls.

 

“I think Mr. Bane likes you,” she says nonchalantly as she rubs her eyes and Alec has to take a second to catch his breath and slow his heart rate.  Luckily Aurora fell back asleep as her hand slipped from his shirt.  Alec huffs a quiet laugh, kisses her forehead and heads back to the kitchen.

 

He moves to help clean up the plates from dinner, but Simon stops him with a hand to his shoulder.  

 

“Don’t worry about it man.  I know it’s late and you have to get going,” he says as he takes the plates from Alec’s hands.  Their household wasn’t far from his, but his family knew he liked to walk everywhere and can’t leave Copernicus alone for a long time.  His heart swelled at their concern, but he didn’t need to be told when to go.  He opened his mouth to protest, but Simon cut him off with a hard look, his eyes glancing to Magnus who was now at the door putting on his coat, then back to Alec.  Alec squinted his eyes at him, but conceded with soft sigh and a nod of thanks.  He kisses Izzy’s head and thanks her for dinner on his way to the door.

 

Magnus voices his thanks as well as he opens the door to head out, Alec quickly pulling on his leather jacket to catch up to him as he was walking away.

 

“Hey, uh, which way are you headed?” he asks in a huff as he fixes his jacket and runs a hand through his hair.

 

“Oh,” Magnus says with a hint of surprise lacing his voice.  “Just a few blocks to the subway.”  Alec’s heart dropped.

 

“Oh...um, mind if I join you?” he peeks a look over at Magnus and catches the hint of a small smile.

 

“Of course not,” he answers looking at Alec with a soft smile and Alec’s heart pounds harder.

 

They continue to walk for a minute in silence.  Alec looked everywhere except where his eyes most desired, keeping his hands in his jacket pocket so as not to nervously grab them.  The silence was killing him as he tried to find the courage to do what he planned to do all night.

 

“That was nice of your sister to invite me over,” Magnus began.  “That meal was…” he tried but couldn’t find the right word to describe what he ate.  Alec huffed out a laugh and Magnus looked at him in surprise, gazing fleeting to Alec’s lips before turning back towards the road as he laughed softly as well.

 

“It’s okay, there are no words to describe what my sister...creates in the kitchen.”

 

They both chuckle and the unease lifts off of Alec’s shoulders.  They came to a stop at a red light, the soft hum of large groups of people was starting to vanish as the night settled in around the city.  A cold breeze swiftly cuts through them and sends Alec’s hair in a disarray.  There was no point in fixing it since the breeze wasn’t letting up, but then soft fingers are reaching up to push the strands off of his forehead, running through his hair to settle it back in place.  

 

Alec sucks in a sharp breath as his eyes shoot straight to Magnus’, his heart pumping faster as Magnus stood closer than he thought, he could feels his cool breath hit his face and Alec stood frozen.  Magnus stood with his hand still raised before quickly putting it back in his pocket, looking as if he surprised himself by doing that.  Alec had to sudden urge to take Magnus’ hands and warm them up, wanting to feel them run through his hair again, but he resisted, instead he picked at the inside of his jacket pocket.  

 

They were still lost in each other’s gazes when Magnus blurted out, “Green.”

 

Alec’s brow furrowed in confusion.

 

“The light,” Magnus said.  “We should cross the street before it turns red again.”  He began walking, almost leaving Alec behind.   
  


“Right,” Alec muttered as he quickly joined him in step and willed his heart to calm down, still feeling the tingling touches of Magnus’ gentle fingers on his head.

 

They continued in light conversation and before he knew it, they were at the subway and his heart was sinking.

 

“Right, so um,” Alec began, hands in his pockets as he turned to Magnus.  “Get home safely,” he said with a tight smile.

 

“Oh, you aren’t getting on?” Magnus asked softly as he pointed at the subway pulling up next to them.

 

Alec shook his head.  “No, i’m not that far of a walk from here.”

 

Magnus tilted his head slightly.  “So you just wanted to walk me to the station?”

 

Alec shrugged a shoulder.  “Yeah, of course.”

 

Magnus’ lips tipped up into a small smile as he stared at Alec, humming as he seemed to be considering something before nodding his head.  “Well then, thank you, Alexander,” he murmured his name and Alec’s heart pumped faster, trying to build his courage, but Magnus was turning to walk away.

 

Without thinking, Alec reached out and touched his elbow.  Magnus came to a halt, looking over his shoulder in surprise.  Alec swallowed thickly.  Realizing he still had a grip on his arm, he slowly let it slide down until it was back by his side. 

 

“Uh,” he ran a hand through his hair.  “I wanted to apologize, for earlier.”

 

Magnus held up his hand.  “It’s okay-”

 

“No, it’s not.  I shouldn’t have shut down like I did when we got coffee.  I was just...nervous,” his eyes danced everywhere, head tilted down.

 

Magnus’ face turned soft, he huffed a small laugh.  “I was too.”

 

Alec met his eyes in surprise before releasing a small laugh.  “Well,” he cleared his throat.  “Will you give me another chance?”

 

“Alexander,” he purred and chills ran up Alec’ spine.  “Are you asking me out on a date?”  His shoulders swayed as he stepped closer.

 

Alec swallowed.  “Yes,” he licked his lips.  “Will you go on a date with me?” he asked, his tone soft and hopeful as he looked at Magnus under the fluorescent lighting.

 

Magnus’ cheeks lifted in a big smile.  He chuckled and looked around at the people boarding the trolley, then back to Alec.  “I would love nothing more,” he answered and Alec’s heart fluttered as he released a brief sigh of relief.  He nodded his head and didn’t know what to do so he held out his hand.  

 

“Looking forward to it,” he said, cheeks flaming in embarrassment.  Luckily it made Magnus laugh and it was the most beautiful noise, hitting Alec in the chest.

 

Magnus grabbed his hand to shake, or so Alec thought.  But then Magnus is leaning down as he brings Alec’s hand to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles.  “Until next time,” he said softly, looking up at Alec through his lashes and Alec’s breath hitched in his lungs.  Too soon, he released Alec’s hand and turned to enter the trolley.  Alec was stuck standing in shock, waving lightly at Magnus through the window before he was gone.  Magnus chuckled and waved back, holding his phone in the air and mouthing ‘call me’ with a wink before he was out of view. 

 

Alec laughed and shook his head at this man.  He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began his trek home, feeling lighter than he has in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Kudos and comments make me feel happy and light and full of love, just like Malec!
> 
> Thank you sosoosososo much for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Tune in next time for: The two idiots to meet, Alec being the best uncle and tour guide, a flight through space, Clary being the sweetie that she is, and dare i say someone asking someone out on a date?? *gasp* who could it be?!
> 
> Chapter two is half way done and should be up soon!!  
> Thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me.
> 
> If you have feelings you wish to shout at me you can do that on here or on my tumblr nanf1c.  
> If not, then have a beautiful day all you lovely people :)


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